Unaccompanied Child Migrants, Gov. Brown's Appointees, New Species at Cal Academy

Unaccompanied Children Crossing the U.S. Border

Sen. Darrell Steinberg
California Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and a delegation of state lawmakers returned this week from a 10-day trip to El Salvador, Panama and Guatemala. They met with government officials to understand the economic and social conditions contributing to the recent influx of unaccompanied minors attempting to cross into the United States. Sen. Steinberg shares his thoughts with Scott Shafer about immigration reform and public policy to help address this growing problem.

Panel Discussion
Last month President Obama acknowledged that the tens of thousands of unaccompanied, undocumented minors trying to cross the U.S.- Mexico border constituted an "urgent humanitarian situation." The minors, who are mainly from Mexico and other Central American countries, pose legal and political challenges to the administration, as public opposition to detention centers to house them grows. Thuy Vu moderates a panel discussion about the impact in the Bay Area, where some of these children end up..

Guests:
• Judge Dana Marks, San Francisco Immigration Courts
• Debra Saunders, San Francisco Chronicle
• Ian Gordon, Mother Jones

Further Reporting:
Undocumented Kids Face Tough Legal Obstacles to Staying in U.S.
State Lawmakers Visit Central America Amid Exodus of Unaccompanied Minors

Gov. Brown's Judicial Appointees
Gov. Jerry Brown this week nominated Stanford law professor Mariano-Florentino Ceullar to the California Supreme Court. Known by his nickname, "Tino," Cuellar is a well-respected academic but he has no judicial experience. The governor made two previous nominations, and at least one more is coming. Scott Shafer looks at the governor's recent judicial appointees and how they're changing the face of the court system.

New Species at California Academy of Sciences
Researchers from the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco recently returned from an expedition to the Verde Island passage in the Philippines. It's a place they call the "center of the center of marine biodiversity." More unique marine species live in that spot than anywhere else in the ocean -- and now some of their discoveries are on display in the Steinhart Aquarium.