Latino USA

“What the Trump administration is trying to do to Mr. Khalil is a blueprint, and if they are able to get away with it, then they will replicate it.” On March 8th, Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil was taken by immigration agents to a detention facility in Louisiana—without charges. He was taken because of his pro-Palestine activism on campus. Khalil is a legal permanent resident of the United States with a valid green card. Maria Hinojosa talks with his lawyer about the case and the chilling implications for free speech and the right to due process in the U.S. today. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

On the first days of his migration journey, “Juan” posed for a photo outside a bus terminal to remember the moment. Two years and two thousand miles later, it landed him in the crosshairs of a recently-elected Trump administration determined to wage an all out war on immigrants, and on a plane to Guantánamo Bay. Today, the story of how one Venezuelan migrant ended up inside one of the world's most infamous prisons, and what he experienced while he was there. Plus, a conversation with one of the lawyers of Mahmoud Khalil about what Trump’s crackdown on migrants means for us all. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

Before it was the classic dress we all know and many still love today, the little black dress was mostly worn by working-class shopgirls and domestics. Monica Morales-Garcia began to research the origins of the L.B.D. to answer: How had so much changed, yet so much had stayed the same? Listen as Monica walks us through the decline of an industry and the rise of a garment. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. This episode originally aired in 2022.

Bella Lugosi's leading role in the creepy 1931 film Dracula made him a horror icon. But there's another, even better version of Dracula that was shot in Spanish using different actors on the same sets. We try to figure out why the Spanish movie ended up so much scarier— and sexier— than the original. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. This episode originally aired in 2018.

In early February, Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele made an unprecedented and controversial offer: to jail U.S. citizens in El Salvador. The move came as President Donald Trump is ramping up his mass deportation plans. In this episode, host Maria Hinojosa sits down with journalists Roman Gressier, editor of El Faro English and host of the podcast “Central America in Minutes,” and Lilia Luciano, CBS News correspondent, to discuss Bukele’s attempts to ally with Trump and the parallels between the two administrations. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

Human smugglers are oftentimes hired by migrants to help them through inhospitable and dangerous routes on their way to the United States. But how do human smugglers, also known as coyotes or polleros, get into the business in the first place? Are they more hurtful than helpful? What is fueling their industry? Renowned anthropologist and author Jason De León tries to answer these questions in his latest book “Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope on the World of Human Smuggling.” Jason sits down with Maria Hinojosa on this episode of Latino USA to discuss the links between the booming business of human smuggling and U.S. immigration policies and much more. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

In the late 1800s, Teresa Urrea was a superstar. She was a ‘curandera,’ or healer, a revolutionary, and a feminist. At only 19 years old she was exiled from Mexico by dictator Porfirio Diaz, who called her the most dangerous girl in the country, and moved to El Paso, Texas. She also had a miraculous power: she could heal people through touch. Her vision of love and equality for all people regardless of gender, race, and class inspired rebellions against the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz, earning her the title the Mexican Joan of Arc. In this episode, we follow Teresa Urrea’s life, and honor the legacy of a revolutionary woman decades ahead of her time. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. This episode originally aired in November 2021.

For Ayodele Casel tap dancing is magic. As a young high school student, she dreamed of one day dancing like Ginger Rogers as she recreated Ginger’s moves in her bedroom But it wasn’t until Ayodele Casel was a sophomore at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts that she took her first tap dancing class. That was her entry point into the art form which would eventually lead to a more than 20 year career as a professional tap dancer. As a Black and Puerto Rican woman, Ayodele Casel didn’t see herself reflected in the mainstream image of tap dancers because the form has been largely whitewashed through systematic racism. For that reason, she works tirelessly to remind her audiences that tap is deeply rooted in Black art and culture. In this episode of “How I Made It” Ayodele takes us through her tap journey, and reclaims tap dancing as a Black art form. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. This episode originally aired in 2021.

To say that the United States and Mexico have a complicated relationship is to put it lightly. We’re talking over 200 years of, well, a lot. And today more than ever it’s hard to keep up with how much is constantly happening between the two. So for this episode we’ll bring OG border and immigration reporters Alfredo Corchado and Angela Kocherga to not only help us understand what’s going on, but to look back at recent history and provide much needed context. How will the relationship change now that there’s an unpredictable macho man in the White House and a cool-headed woman leading Mexico? Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

Harvey Guillén talks with Maria Hinojosa about his role as Guillermo de la Cruz in the FX vampire comedy, What We Do in the Shadows. Harvey reflects on some recent tragic moments and some others from his childhood, none of which has stopped him from pursuing his dreams of being a Hollywood star. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

As President Trump threatens to take the Panama Canal back, journalist Cristela Guerra recalls her childhood memories growing up between the U.S. and Panama. She tells us about the complicated history between the two countries and what’s at stake if the U.S. tries to take the canal back. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

Emilia Pérez has sparked significant controversy not only because of polarizing remarks from its director and lead star, but for its eccentric storytelling and what many call a downright “off” portrayal of Mexico. The film has received countless accolades and is nominated for 13 Oscars. We spoke to film thinkers in Mexico and the U.S. about what went wrong, what went right, and how critics and fans are responding. Listen to our conversation with Gonzalo Galván from El Heraldo de México, Fernanda Solórzano from Letras Libres, LAist’s Antonia Cereijido, and San Antonio Current’s Kiko Martínez. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

In the second episode of our new series "Hombre: Understanding Latino Men," Maria Hinojosa sits down with two young Latino voters from Texas. Alejandro Flores, from Dallas, cast his ballot for Kamala Harris in 2024. First-time voter Alexis Uscanga, from the Rio Grande Valley, chose Donald Trump. This roundtable gets into the issues that informed both Alexis’ and Alejandro’s vote. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

Author Cristina Rivera Garza’s memoir received the Pulitzer prize in 2024. In Mexico, the book sparked a feminist movement demanding justice for gender-based violence. In “Liliana’s Invincible Summer,” Cristina delves into the “emotional archive” of her sister, who was allegedly killed by her boyfriend 30 years ago, when Liliana was only 20. In this conversation, Cristina Rivera Garza and Maria Hinojosa discuss their own journeys to find the words and power to talk about gender-based violence and femicide in both English and Spanish. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

When you enter the Caribbean Social Club, or Toñita’s, it feels like you could be in your grandmother’s living room. And that’s exactly what its owner, Maria Antonia Cay, —better known as Toñita— was aiming for when she opened the club in the 1970s as a gathering place for the local baseball team. 50 years later, Toñita’s is still standing in Los Sures, the south side of Williamsburg—the most gentrified neighborhood in New York City. Yet over the years, Toñita has faced ever greater challenges to keep her club open. In this episode of Latino USA, we follow Toñita through her latest hurdle, a court battle, and we learn about how the Puerto Rican community in Los Sures has kept culture alive. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage. This episode originally aired in 2024.

This week on Latino USA, we're sharing an episode from Code Switch. We bring you a different kind of immigration coverage. We're telling a New York story: one that celebrates the beautiful, everyday life of the immigrant. Code Switch producer, Xavier Lopez, and NPR immigration reporter, Jasmine Garsd, spend a day at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. You can subscribe to Code Switch here. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

Amid the chaos generated by Donald Trump’s first days back in the White House, Maria Hinojosa sits down with someone who has sounded off on the former and current president for years: New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. AOC tells us what, in her opinion, what went wrong for Democrats in 2024 and how the party can win back voters. She also highlights the beauty and value immigrants bring to the U.S., analyzes the new geopolitics of Latin America and more. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

In 1939, a Mexican-American high school basketball team shocked the world. Basketball, at the time, was considered a white man's game. Until Lanier High School, with their all Mexican-American basketball team, won the 1939 San Antonio city championship. But at the moment of their greatest triumph, things suddenly took a turn for this worse. This episode originally aired in 2016. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

“Latinos are not a monolith” is something we hear whenever politicians want to court Latino voters, and no one understands the nuances of this community quite like journalist and author Marie Arana. She’s the author of “LatinoLand: A Portrait of America’s Largest and Least Understood Minority," which explores the complexities, histories and cultures of Latinos in the United States. In this moment of political change, Maria Hinojosa sits down with Marie Arana to discuss just how wide-ranging Latinidad is, unpack this community’s place in U.S.political history, and reflect on the future of Latinos in this country. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.

Donald Trump has been sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, signing sweeping executive orders targeting climate, trans rights and immigrants. We hear reactions from a diverse range of those affected, including a Venezuelan migrant at the border, a trans activist in Arizona, and an undocumented domestic worker in New Jersey. Then, host Maria Hinojosa sits down with Princeton Professor of African American Studies and author Dr. Eddie Glaude and Senior Political Reporter for Vox Nicole Narea to break down what it all means and where we go from here. Follow us on TikTok and YouTube. Subscribe to our newsletter by going to the top of our homepage.