As power switches hands from Republican to Democratic leadership in 2009, the nation holds its breath, hoping President Barack Obama will fix an immigration system that has become both unfair and unwieldy. Instead, hope turns to dismay as the new administration champions the Secure Communities program, expanding the reach of ICE through local law enforcement and creating a chilling effect on immigrants? abilities to report crimes. Hear about one such case involving a child predator working at an elementary school in Los Angeles ?? and the undocumented families of the victims who were afraid to come forward. Host Erika Andiola also shares the deeply personal impact that these policies had on her family life. Discover how a program that promised ?secure communities,? in fact accomplished the opposite, making everyone more unsafe in the process. 

In addition to staffing CBP, the federal government begins to expand immigration detention, with a mandate to add 34,000 beds in 4 years. Join us as we visit several of the Texas detention centers launched during this period. Learn how the Bush administration expanded the detention system, contracting with private companies and allowing profit motives to guide immigration policy. And hear from Cecyll Padilla, who turned himself in only to be detained.

On the heels of 9/11, early warning signs indicate that the US is changing its approach to immigration. Congress approves a hiring spree at DHS?s newly-created Customs and Border Protection (CBP), doubling the size of Border Patrol forces by 2010. CBP quickly becomes the largest law enforcement agency in the country?and the most corrupt. The impact: dire consequences for immigrants. 

Nearly 20 years ago, Presidents George W. Bush and Vicente Fox stand side by side on the White House lawn, poised to broker a deal that would give undocumented Mexican immigrants in the US a path to becoming documented. That deal never came to pass. Days later, 9/11 forever changed the course of immigration in this country and the future for immigrants like our host Erika Andiola. Overtaken by a climate of fear, Congress and the White House created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a department with a vague mandate and almost unlimited resources. Join us as we trace the unwinding of US immigration policy and the dangerous consequences of increasingly unchecked powers of government.

I'm Erika Andiola: immigrant, activist, and host of the new podcast Homeland Insecurity, which asks, "How did immigrants like me become the enemy?" We answer that question by investigating the unwritten history of the Department of Homeland Security. The first 4 episodes are available beginning May 27th.