The top local stories this evening from KERA News:
The Department of Homeland Security issued new guidelines Tuesday that would enforce President Donald Trump’s executive orders that crack down on illegal immigration. The directives, though, don’t affect one of the Obama administration’s landmark programs DACA, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Former President Obama created it to keep approved young immigrants in the country.
On the campaign trail last fall, Trump vowed to end the program.
That leaves people like Ana Zamora in a difficult place. She was only a toddler when her parents left San Luis Potosi, Mexico, for Texas. Three-quarters of a million young unauthorized immigrants have gotten work permits and deportation relief through the DACA program. Zamora’s been a recipient since it was created in 2012, and she has to reapply every other year.
In 2015, Zamora was invited by then-President Obama to his State of the Union address. She now teaches kindergarten at a Dallas charter school – and despite having a permit to work in the U.S., she feels a little shaky.
“If you put yourself in my place, this is exactly how I feel,” Zamora said. “You’re just walking and you don’t know when you’re going to fall.”
KERA’s Gus Contreras reports how people like Zamora feel like they’re in limbo.
Other stories this evening:
- A federal judge stopped Texas from cutting off Medicaid dollars to Planned Parenthood over secretly recorded videos taken by anti-abortion activists in 2015. Those videos, which were heavily edited, launched Republican efforts across the U.S. to defund the nation's largest abortion provider. The decision from U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks of Austin makes Texas one of at least six states where federal courts have kept Planned Parenthood eligible for Medicaid reimbursements for non-abortion services. Sparks' decision preserves what Planned Parenthood says are cancer screenings, birth control and other health services for nearly 11,000 low-income women at 30 clinics.
- While people regularly give coats and outgrown shoes to those in need, homeless shelters—and the women who live there—are often without essentials like bras and feminine hygiene products. As part of KERA’s One Crisis Away project about life on the financial edge, Courtney Collins looks at a grassroots effort to help homeless women get what they need.
- Tuesday night on KERA-TV, an American Masters documentary features Maya Angelou. The program examines how history, culture and the arts shaped the late poet and writer’s life. “Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise” airs on KERA-TV at 7 p.m. KERA is also sponsoring a Maya Angelou essay contest for high school students. Winners may be invited to read their essays on the air. Learn more about the contest here.
You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:22 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM.
