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

  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

  By: Pedro Rios In 2010, Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, a husband and father of five, was handcuffed, tortured and brutally beaten to death by 12 Border Patrol agents at the San Ysidro border crossing in California. The horrifying incident witnessed by dozens of people exposed a systemic problem with the nation’s largest law enforcement agency: that Border Patrol agents operate with impunity, without meaningful accountability, and in complete opaqueness. The abuses by agents are widespread and well documented. Since January of 2010 more than46 people have died as a result of an interaction with the Border Patrol. This past June, a woman was killed when Border Patrol agents intentionally rammed their boat into another boat carrying 20 people. In 2012, a Border Patrol agent shot 16-year-old Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez repeatedly in the back before he died. He was on his way to a local market to buy food staples in the Mexican city of Nogales, along the border with Arizona. Continue reading

  The board is set to review the 2010 death of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, who died after a confrontation with border agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. By Tatiana Sanchez U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Use of Force Review Board today will look into the case of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, who died in 2010 after being beaten and shocked with a Taser during a confrontation with border agents. Hernandez Rojas was apprehended at the San Ysidro Port of Entry allegedly for attempting to cross the border illegally. He died a few days after his arrest. Continue reading

  By Steven Luke The man who represents all of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in the San Diego area says his men and woman want body cameras, as soon as possible. Terence Shigg, the local chapter president for The National Border Patrol Council and a longtime agent himself, says the problem has been a lack of collaboration between management and day to day agents. Continue reading

  By EFEUSA Un comité de la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza evaluará a partir de este jueves la investigación realizada tras la muerte del mexicano Anastasio Hernández hace casi seis años después de recibir una brutal golpiza por parte de oficiales de inmigración. La Junta Nacional de Análisis de Uso de Fuerza (NUFRB), quien revisará el caso, fue establecida en diciembre de 2014 por el comisionado de Aduanas, Gil Kerlikowske, como una medida para analizar todo altercado en que agentes detonen un arma, así como incidentes en que el uso de fuerza resulte en heridas de gravedad o en la muerte. Continue reading

  By Christian Ramirez The recently published article, “Activists push for body cams for border agents” demonstrates the lack of justice given to Anastasio Hernandez Rojas’ family. This family has been subjected to delayed tactics and refusals to prosecute. This injustice has created a gap of mistrust. Continue reading

  By Jean Guerrero On Thursday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will begin reviewing the death of a Mexican immigrant shot repeatedly with a Taser by Border Patrol agents. The 2010 incident went viral after bystanders leaked cellphone videos. Continue reading

  Responding to calls for accountability, CBP implements Use of Force Review Board Washington D.C./Southern Border Region - This Thursday, March 10, the Use of Force Review Board (UFRB), convened by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), will review the investigation of CBP's lethal beating of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas. Maria Puga, widow of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, and Christian Ramirez, Director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, will be available for comment in person, by phone or Skype today, March 9 between 10:00 am - 12:00 pm PST at the office of Alliance San Diego: 4443 30th St. San Diego, CA. Continue reading

  By: Rob O'Dell TUCSON— The murder trial for the Border Patrol agent who shot through the border fence and killed a Mexican teenager is now set for November, after being delayed three times since late 2015. U.S. District Court Judge Raner C. Collins set the trial date for Nov. 7, the day before Election Day. The goal was to set a realistic date for both sides — allowing the Border Patrol agent's lawyer Sean Chapman time to prepare for the trial while also giving the government a set date to bring in witnesses from two countries. Continue reading