Fronteras: A Changing America

Pope Francis is the first ever from the Americas, an austere Jesuit intellectual who modernized Argentina's conservative Catholic church.

Known until Wednesday as Jorge Bergoglio, the 76-year-old is known as a humble man who denied himself the luxuries that previous Buenos Aires cardinals enjoyed. He came close to becoming pope last time, reportedly gaining the second-highest vote total in several rounds of voting before he bowed out of the running in the conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.

PHOENIX — The annual Border Security Expo in Phoenix opened Tuesday. It’s an event meant to showcase the latest technologies for sale to border agencies. But one huge element was missing: federal buyers.

George P. Bush will run for Texas land commissioner in 2014.

For months, there has been speculation surrounding what office Bush — the Latino nephew of one U.S. President and grandson of another — would go after.

The Zócalo newspaper is the latest victim in a recent upswing of violence against Mexican journalists.

Zócalo, a publication out of the Coahuila capitol, Saltillo, wrote a front-page editorial on its website Monday explaining it would no longer publish news concerning drug cartels.

In a statement by the editorial council of the paper, it said the decision aimed to protect its employees and their families.

PHOENIX — It may still be winter in most of the country, but here in Phoenix it's almost swimming weather.

And that means a new crop of teenagers are training to be lifeguards. It’s a job that’s typically been filled by high school swim team athletes, many of whom are white. But now the city is now trying to diversify that classic summer job.

In late January, staff from the Phoenix Aquatics program visited Alhambra High School, which is almost 95 percent minority.

The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure. But there is an exception for the border agents trying to detect illegal material before it enters the country.

A bipartisan group of senators laying the foundation on immigration reform, known as the Gang of Eight, have agreed on a pathway for the 11 million undocumented immigrants to attain citizenship.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The Havasupai Tribe and environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service for allowing a uranium mining company to operate six miles outside of Grand Canyon National Park.

Havasupai Chairman Don Watahomigie says the mine is on a sacred site and designated traditional cultural property. He’s also concerned about protecting the tribe’s drinking water.

The week's top stories from Fronteras: The Changing America Desk:

Is It End Of The Chicano Generation?

On the campus of San Diego State University recently, Sandy Chavez, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, said, without hesitation, that she thinks of herself primarily as American.

It’s inevitable, especially here in Southern California, that when one thinks about immigration reform and the undocumented, one hears Latino voices. From KPCC Charles Castaldi reports

PHOENIX — Spring is in the air, baseball is back.

The prospect of living in the middle of the Cactus League during Spring Training is what made my husband and I giddy to move to Arizona a few years ago.

But it was the raging immigration law debate that gave us pause. I had heard stories from my darker-skinned friends about an openly hostile environment in Arizona.

PHOENIX — A recent decision by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to transfer several hundred immigrants from detention to more cost-effective forms of supervision fueled a public outcry. The stated reason for those releases were looming sequester cuts.

In recent months, however, ICE has quietly shifted to using a new instrument to make custody decisions.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — If you drive across the American Southwest, near the Mexico border, you are likely to encounter a Border Patrol checkpoint. These roadside stations are set up to check immigration status.

What happens next is an open question.

When a driver approaches a Border Patrol checkpoint, the drill is to pull off the highway, wait in line, and then a Border Patrol agent will ask, “Are you an American citizen?”

If you answer “yes," in most instances you’ll soon be back on the road.

But what happens if you refuse to answer?

SAN DIEGO — On the campus of San Diego State University recently, Sandy Chavez, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, said, without hesitation, that she thinks of herself primarily as American.

Yes, she is Latina, of Mexican heritage. She’s visited family in Mexico, and on weekends as a child she woke up to her parents playing Mexican music on the stereo. But she’s never described herself principally as Mexican or Latina, much less Chicana, a term preferred by many young Mexican-Americans in the 1960s and 70s.