By: Brian Bennett The system for disciplining abusive or corrupt Border Patrol agents and officers is so flawed that it hardly acts to deter criminal misconduct in the nation's largest law enforcement agency, according to an independent task force that investigated the problems. The team's 49-page final report will be submitted Tuesday to a homeland security advisory council that commissioned it, and then given to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. A copy was obtained by the Los Angeles Times. Critics long have accused U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the parent agency of the Border Patrol, of ignoring or downplaying abuses by agents and officers, including shootings of unarmed people, and of doing too little to stem systematic corruption by drug cartels, smugglers and other criminals. Continue reading

  By: Douglas Brown Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson addressed the state of the nation’s border security last week, with a particular emphasis on the southern border. Continue reading

  By: Enrique Limon Border Patrol agents’ shootings of individuals who throw rocks at them follow “an astonishing pattern,” a report reveals.   Continue reading

  Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale says a series of border security changes that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed upon this week are designed to make cross-border travel "smoother." Speaking on CTV's Question Period, Goodale said the new rules will impact preclearance procedures, information-sharing, and no-fly lists in the two countries. Continue reading

  For almost six years, the Hernandez Rojas family has asked our government to provide them with vindication and justice for the preventable death of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas. In 2010, Anastasio, a longtime resident of San Diego, was brutally beaten, shot with a Taser and killed by 13 U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents. Since his death, the Hernandez Rojas family has been subjected to delaying tactics and refusals to prosecute. Not only has our justice system failed this family, it has failed our communities. Continue reading

  By Elliot Spagat SAN DIEGO — A panel of law enforcement experts found that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has made little movement on a call to sharply increase the number of agents assigned to investigate internal corruption, calling it a mistake that could lead to a major scandal if it isn't addressed more quickly. The panel, led by New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton and former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration chief Karen Tandy, urged the nation's largest law enforcement agency in June 2015 to more than double the number of internal affairs criminal investigators to 550 from about 200. It said the agency's 2017 budget calls for an increase of only 30 investigators, meaning it would take about a decade to fulfill the recommendation at that pace. Continue reading

  By Matthew Scheurman Rainbow-colored telavera animals crowd the outside of Casa Maya de Mexico in the self-described “artist colony” of Tubac where metalwork shaped into suns and moons, paper mache skeletons from Día de los muertos, and wooden religious figures join them. María Troy, who has worked at Casa Maya de Mexico for the last two years, helps bring many of the goods from Mexico to sell here. Continue reading

  'What can we do if someday la migra comes to my home?' By Alexa Garcia-Ditta On an almost balmy winter day, Yasmin, an undocumented woman, settled into a pew at St. John’s Episcopal Church in North Austin for a lesson on what to do if immigration agents were ever to knock on her door. Yasmin, who asked that her last name not be used, had become increasingly worried as the news swelled with stories about immigration sweeps in several states, including Texas. The controversial raids targeted 121 Central American mothers and children with pending orders of deportation. Yasmin, a mother of two U.S. citizen children, came to the United States from Mexico 11 years ago and fears the same could happen to her and her family. Continue reading

  By Andrea Kelly Tucsonan Linda Valdez has been studying politics in Tucson and Arizona for decades. She is a columnist for the Arizona Republic and she often explores – and weighs in on – the roiling federal and state debates about border and immigration policy. But she hasn’t revealed her personal experience with those politics, until now. In her new book, called Crossing the Line, Valdez shares her experience falling in love on an impromptu trip to Mexico. She also writes of how she and her husband made their cross-cultural, relationship work, even when he couldn't cross the border to be with her.     Continue reading

  Frontera Filmmakers Showcase at 23rd San Diego Latino Film Festival (March 10-20)   This indispensable showcase celebrates the triumphant cinematic accomplishments of local San Diego / Tijuana filmmakers. The films featured in this showcase have never been more ambitious, artistic, and astounding. It is a distinct privilege to be able to share these films with you. Individual tickets go on sale after February 26, 2016. For now, you can still also get a special deals on our 5-Movie Ticket Pack, Film Pass, & Festival Pass. Click here to purchase today! http://sdlatinofilm.com/passes/ Films in this year’s FRONTERA FILMMAKERS SHOWCASE Include: Continue reading