Stories - AZPM

Arizona 360 host Lorraine Rivera interviews Zaira Livier at Arizona Public Media. Zaira serves as executive director of the Peoples Defense Initiative, a group spearheading a voter-initiative to declare Tucson a sanctuary city.

Sanctuary city initiative organizer on the movement's goals

A discussion with Zaira Livier, who leads the group spearheading the initiative in Tucson.

Zaira Livier, executive director of the People's Defense Initiative, speaks to a reporter after a news conference on July 3, 2019, at which the group announced it had collected more than 18,000 signatures for its "sanctuary city" initiative.

Organizers submit petitions for Tucson 'sanctuary city' initiative

The group says it has more than twice the number of signatures needed to get initiative on city ballot.

Madeleine Erasto, who's family are refugees from the Congo, dances to the live music at the family fun fest of the World Refugee Day celebration at Catalina High School on Saturday, June 22, 2019, in Tucson.

World Refugee Day in Tucson

Also on Arizona Spotlight: The youth photography program "Parks in Focus" in action, and The Southwest Fair Housing Council observes the 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act.

Archie is a big brown bat, and has been taken care of by Bob & Debbie Beucher since being rescued more than sixteen years ago.

Bat night at the Mission Garden

Also: A new facility in Nogales, Sonora to help migrants following the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" policy; and strangers find common ground with "One Small Step".

Volunteers with the Registered Nurse Response Network.

Nurses Network Boosting Care for Migrants at Tucson Shelter

The Registered Nurse Response Network has been helping treat migrants in Tucson on weekends for more than three months.

1,100 backpacks represent the number of college students who died by suicide in 2018. This event was designed to raise awareness about mental health and encourage suicide prevention.

Can 1,000 Empty Backpacks Save Lives?

Also: How Pima County could pay for newly opened migrant shelters; Bridging cultural divides with the Persian language; Tucson author Janni Lee Simner reads from her new book.

Guatemalan father with his 5 year old daughter. It took father and daughter almost two weeks to get to the Arizona border. They are asylum seekers staying at a temporary shelter opened by the City of Tucson to relieve the overflow of migrants at Tucson shelters. (April 18, 2019)

The City of Tucson Offers Hope to Migrants in Need

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Go backstage at Tucson High Magnet School to preview "Our Border Town"; Tucson poet laureate TC Tolbert receives grant from the Academy of American Poets; And, what would you do with the blessing of extra time to be alive?

AZPM is partnering with StoryCorps for One Small Step to record conversations between strangers who hold different political beliefs.

Finding Common Ground with "One Small Step"

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Free speech debate on campus; "I Dream in Widescreen Returns"; and thoughts on kindness from the Mission Garden.

"Hold On To Your Weaves" (2018) / photograph by Kennady Schneider

#Black - Exploring Identity with Photography

Also on Arizona Spotlight: A "Go Fund Me" campaign for the border wall; An author's journey in search of her Sephardic Jewish heritage; and the world debut of the play "The Hall of Final Ruin."

Thomas Thwaites' documents his quest to take a break from being a human in his book "Goatman". Photograph by Tim Bowditch.

Becoming a Goat?

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Trials begin for "No More Deaths" volunteers; How photographing Bears Ears National Monument became a passion for a retired astronomer; and remembering when Martin Luther King, Jr. visited Tucson.

Actor and playwright Jim Brochu portrays actor and artist Zero Mostel in "Zero Hour".

Exploring "Zero Hour", and the Rebellion of Zero Mostel

Also on Arizona Spotlight: A family separated for 6 years by the U.S. / Mexico border; Gary Paul Nabhan on "Food from the Radical Center"; and the Zoppè Family Circus legacy.

The Benedictine Monastery on North Country Club Road off East Speedway Boulevard in Tucson.

Tucson Developer Offers Migrants Temporary Housing in Tucson

The Benedictine Monastery will soon house Central American asylum-seekers waiting for claims to be processed.

Angie Dickinson at Old Tucson Studios during the filming of "Rio Bravo" in 1959.

Return to Rio Bravo

Also on Arizona Spotlight: How the Kino Border Initiative is aiding migrant families; Tucson mystery writer bases novel around opioid addiction; and remembering filmmaker Nicolas Roeg.

Sherri Williamson prepares to tag a hummingbird at San Pedro House in Cochise County. September 22, 2018

Playing Tag with Hummingbirds

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Luis Alberto Urrea on "The House of Broken Angels"; flutist Gary Stroutsos on playing music in sacred places; and Nancy Stanley on founding the stand-up comedy "Estrogen Hour".

Challenger Rep. Nicolas Pierson and incumbent Dem. Raul Grijalva await the start of their televised debate in the Congressional District 3 race, Wednesday, October 17, 2018, Tucson, Ariz.

CD3 Candidates See Separate Paths Forward on Immigration

One of 9 U.S. House districts that border Mexico, the topic looms large in Southwestern Arizona.

Nayla Altamirano, a lawyer, an activist, and a performance artist with Zapotec and Chilean roots, is one of dozens of artists participating in the 2018 Binational Encuentro, October 11 - 19, 2018.

Women Migrate Across More Than Borders

Also on Arizona Spotlight: Borderlands Theater explores"Sanctuary"; Pima County's Master Gardener program celebrates 35 years; and Tu Nidito presents an art show by youth coping with grief.

More Immigration Tucson Stories