House Speaker Paul Ryan is reluctant to accept Syrian refugees into the U.S., dual-language programs prove effective in passing on Spanish language and KPCC'S Officer-Involved series looks at the factors that influence whether or not a police officer is prosecuted.
Is US refugee screening thorough enough?
In the wake of last Friday's Paris attacks, Republicans in Congress want to stop Syrian refugees from coming into the US.
They're planning to introduce a bill to do just that.
However, most Democrats say the refugees can be safely screened to keep out jihadists. What is the current vetting process for refugees coming to the US? And does it provide enough protection for Americans? If not, what could be done to bolster it? We’ll also parse the political dynamics and how the issue is likely to play out in the 2016 election.
Guests:
Jonathan Allen, Political reporter and Best-selling author of “HRC: State Secrets and the Rebirth of Hillary Clinton”
Kathleen Newland, a Senior Fellow and Co-Founder of the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization with offices around the world focusing on migration and refugee issues
Jessica Vaughan, Director of Policy Studies, Center for Immigration Studies, a D.C.-based organization that studies the impact of immigration on American society
2nd and 3rd generation Latinos turning to immersion programs to pass on language
Fewer Latinos are speaking Spanish at home, as more of them are born and raised in the U.S.
But some second-generation parents are trying to change that.
An increasing number of parents are turning to Spanish immersion school programs to ensure the language won’t be lost on the next generation. In some cases, they are of a generation that was pushed to learn English to the exclusion of any other languages, but now see utility in passing Spanish onto their children.
The only problem is, they may not know how to speak it fluently. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that in just a few years, about one-third of Latino young people will live in a household where only English is spoken.
Are you bilingual? Or concerned about ensuring that your children will be? What challenges have you faced in growing up or trying to raise children in a bilingual household?
Read the full story here.
Guest:
Leslie Berestein Rojas, KPCC's Immigration and Emerging Communities Reporter
Officer Involved: District attorneys on why officer-involved shootings are so tough to prosecute
In September of 2000, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced it would bring criminal charges against Ronald Orosco, a then-30-year-old LAPD officer who, three months prior, shot an unarmed black man in the back after an argument over a traffic stop.
Facing 25 to life, Orosco pled down and received a five year sentence in state prison. He served three.
Since then, no on-duty officer in Los Angeles County has been charged for shooting a civilian. A recent KPCC investigation into officer-involved shootings in Los Angeles County from 2010-2014 found that 375 people were shot by on-duty law enforcement in that time.
In many cases, there’s simply not enough evidence for a prosecutor to take the case to court. Even when officer-involved shooting cases do make it to trial, prosecutors say it’s very difficult to convince 12 jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that an officer acted outside the law.
There’s also the issue of how closely law enforcement officers work with the District Attorney’s Office. Law enforcement work closely with the DA, often testifying on behalf of the prosecution in other criminal cases.
With more officers using body cameras and more citizens recording police interactions with their cell phones, prosecutors may have more evidence than they have in the past, and that could allow district attorneys the ability to bring charges where wouldn't have been able in the past.
Today, Larry speaks with two former Los Angeles County district attorneys about the challenges prosecutors face when deciding whether to charge a law enforcement officer in the shooting of a civilian.
For more on KPCC’s ‘Officer Involved’ series, click here.
Guests:
Gil Garcetti, former Los Angeles County District Attorney from 1992 to 2000
Steve Cooley, former Los Angeles County District Attorney from 2000 to 2012
In performance, Patricia Ward Kelly pays tribute to late husband, legend Gene Kelly
The live of film and dance legend Gene Kelly is well documented, but never in as intimate and imaginative a fashion as in the performance, “Gene Kelly: The Legacy.”
Weaving film clips, rare outtakes, never before released audio recordings and personal anecdotes, Patricia Ward Kelly (film historian and Kelly’s wife) reveals the personal side of a man few people know except for what they see on screen, and properly places his achievements not just in dance, but in film history in general.
Tickets are at CarpenterArts.org or 562-985-7000. Listeners can use the discount code "KPCC" at checkout.
Guest:
Patricia Ward Kelly, film historian, biographer and wife of legendary dancer, director and choreographer Gene Kelly. She is the artistic force behind the upcoming performance, “Gene Kelly: The Legacy,” at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center