Broken Borders: Immigration Reform in the Southwest

Series produced by Fronteras Desk

Series image

A multi-part series from the Fronteras Changing America Desk on the broken parts of our immigration system and the prospects for reform.

Many believe our current immigration system is broken. Currently, an estimated 11 million people live in the United States without proper documentation. Visas available to bring in high skilled, or less-skilled, workers are hard to come by. Visa backlogs have separated families for upward of 20 years.
We spent a staggering $18 billion on immigration enforcement last fiscal year. Yet people who want to cross, still do so.
Our series, Broken Border, peels apart the complex tangle of the debate to explore what matters.
We go from California farms to employers' offices in Arizona, ride along the southwest border with border patrol, open closed legislative doors to talk to key policy shapers, explore the impact of 11 million undocumented workers and ask: What does the Obama Administration owe the Latino voters who helped bring him back to Washington? Hide full description

Many believe our current immigration system is broken. Currently, an estimated 11 million people live in the United States without proper documentation. Visas available to bring in high skilled, or less-skilled, workers are hard to come by. Visa backlogs have separated families for upward of 20 years.We spent a staggering $18 billion on immigration enforcement last fiscal year. Yet people who want to cross, still do so.Our series, Broken Border, peels apart the complex tangle of the debate to explore what matters.We go from California farms to employers' offices in Arizona, ride along the southwest border with border patrol, open closed legislative doors to talk to key policy shapers, explore the impact of 11 million undocumented workers and ask: What does the Obama Administration... Show full description


7 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: Gustavo Valencia has been in line for 18 years. And on at least two separate occasions, his priority date has been called. But he still waits for a visa., Credit: John Rosman
Both President Obama's and the Senate's proposals for immigration reform support a "path to citizenship" for undocumented immigrants in this countr...

Bought by KOSU


  • Added: Feb 07, 2013
  • Length: 04:01
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: A young man rallies for comprehensive immigration reform in 2010, Credit: Richard Morgan
Many critics and supporters of comprehensive immigration reform are looking back at the amnesty offered in 1986 for lessons for today.

Bought by KOSU


  • Added: Feb 07, 2013
  • Length: 03:58
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Noel Stehly, an organic citrus and avocado farmer in northern San Diego County, says he's never tried to bring in guest workers because the process is cumbersome and expensive., Credit: Adrian Florido
One part of the immigration system widely seen as being in need of reform: seasonal guest workers.

Bought by KOSU and New Hampshire Public Radio


  • Added: Jan 28, 2013
  • Length: 04:18
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Ross Tappan used to manage a dairy in Mesa, Ariz., that switched to using E-Verify., Credit: Jude Joffe Block
To avoid a future flow of illegal immigrant workers, employers must have a good way of certifying their workforce is legitimate. We look at Arizon...

Bought by KOSU


  • Added: Jan 28, 2013
  • Length: 04:09
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Workers raised the gate on the border fence of the U.S.-Mexico boundary to clean away debris from a cross-border wash. Accumulated debris has knocked down fence segments in the past., Credit: Michel Marizco
We need a secure border before we can reform the immigration system. But it turns out, noone knows exactly what a secure border means.

Bought by WRST-FM Oshkosh and KOSU


  • Added: Jan 28, 2013
  • Length: 04:16
  • Purchases: 2
Piece image
What to do with the 11 million undocumented immigrants already in this country will be a critical component of immigration reform.

Bought by KUOW and KOSU


  • Added: Jan 28, 2013
  • Length: 04:03
  • Purchases: 2
Caption: Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona are two of the eight lawmakers brainstorming to lay the foundation for comprehensive immigration reform., Credit: flickr
The bi-partisan group of Senators who have drafted a proposal for comprehensive immigration reform are led by two from the state that's famous for ...

  • Added: Jan 28, 2013
  • Length: 03:53