
Amy Isackson
Border ReporterAmy Isackson was the border reporter at KPBS from 2004 to 2011. She covered breaking news and feature stories on California-Mexico border issues and immigration, for local and national broadcast. Amy got her start in public radio by pitching a series of stories about rural New Zealand - horse dentistry and sheep sheering - to Radio New Zealand's "Country Life" program. She then worked with Peabody Award-winning radio producers Nikki Silva and Davia Nelson, to help create the Sonic Memorial, a series of stories on the World Trade Center before, during and after 9/11. Amy's work has been recognized with awards from the Associated Press Television-Radio Association of California and Nevada, the California Chicano News Media Association, and the San Diego Press Club. She won the Sol Price Prize for Responsible Journalism in 2009 from the Society of Professional Journalists for her story about high school students smuggling people and drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border. Prior to venturing into the wonderful world of public radio, Amy worked for Yahoo! Inc. for nearly five years as an editorial surfer, associate producer and broadcast communications manager. She majored in Latin American History at Williams College. She grew up in San Diego and made frequent trips south of the border.
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U.S. federal officials say smuggling groups are recruiting teenagers on school campuses in San Diego and Imperial Counties to carry drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Drug smugglers along the U.S. Mexico border are using a new tactic to sneak their contraband into the United States. They're recruiting junior high and high school students, some as young as thirteen years old.
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California Corrections officials are reviewing the cases of undocumented immigrant prisoners to see who can be deported. About 6,000 up for consideration have more than one felony.
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Mexico's new drug law intends to recast the possession of small amounts of drugs as a public health issue, instead of a public safety problem. Under the new law, the first two times people are caught police will direct them to treatment centers.
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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger may not attend the annual gathering of U.S. and Mexican border governors that kicks off in Monterrey, Mexico on Wednesday.
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A new government report dings the US Border Patrol for overstating the effectiveness of highway checkpoints. Nevertheless, the Government Accountability Office concludes the checkpoints are an important line of defense for illegal immigrants and drugs.
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