/ Modified jan 30, 2016 6:59 a.m.

AZ WEEK: Borderlands Stories - Security, Refuge, Agriculture

Guest host Nancy Montoya goes beyond the campaign cries to 'Secure the border'

The story of the border has many facets – the search for security, sanctuary and sustainable food supply.

Friday Arizona Week goes to the U.S.-Mexico border, Yuma farms and an immigrant refuge in Tucson with guest host Nancy Montoya.

On the program:

  • What technology secures the border in Arizona? Central components are towers with cameras and radar detection. Nancy Montoya unpacks how Customs and Border Protection agents monitor hundreds of miles along the border.
  • Yuma was the busiest illegal border crossing in the nation a decade ago. Today, those crossings are down 90 percent.
  • Yuma is the winter vegetable capital of North America and grows the majority of salad greens this time of year. This demands a large labor force and a decrease of legal crossings is bad news for Yuma farmers.
  • A rare look inside a local safe house for recent Central American immigrants. Faith-based communities work with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to provide shelter. "It may seem like we are polar opposites, but a lot of the agents we work with are happy to work with us," said Jamie Flynn, with Catholic Community Services.
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