An estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States. Over the past month, the Trump Administration has unveiled plans to arrest and deport large numbers of them. Under Obama, close to 3 million immigrants were deported. Trump is trying to do it faster. And with fewer restrictions. Undocumented immigrants have long been an easy political target, especially those who’ve committed crimes. But, like everything, the individual stories are always more complicated. In 1999, we met Jose William Huezo Soriano – everybody called him Weasel. Weasel was born in El Salvador and grew up in Los Angeles. He had a pretty typical American childhood. But as a teenager he joined a gang, and started getting in trouble with the police. Then Weasel got deported back to El Salvador. He was 26 years old, and he hadn’t been there since he was 5. He had no memories of the country. No close family there. And he’d forgotten most of his Spanish. Soon after he got deported, we gave Weasel a tape recorder to document his first year back in El Salvador.   Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Daisy Anderson and Alberta Martin lived what seemed like parallel lives. Both had grown up poor, children of sharecroppers in the South. Daisy in Tennessee; Alberta in Alabama. Both women got married in their early 20’s, to men who were near 80. And both those husbands had served in the Civil War. But as it happens, they’d served on opposite sides. Daisy and Alberta were two of the last surviving Civil War widows. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

One week into his Presidency, Donald Trump signed an executive order to begin building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Trump says it will be, “an impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful, southern border wall.” But campaign slogans are easy. Reality is harder. In this episode, two stories about that border. And what happens when, instead of people crossing the border, the border crosses the people. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Finding artists willing to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration proved harder than expected. Elton John, Celine Dion, Garth Brooks, Ice-T, and Kiss were among those reportedly invited. They all declined. Then there was British singer and X-factor winner Rebecca Ferguson. She said she would consider performing at the inauguration if she were allowed to sing the song Strange Fruit. On the podcast, we tell the story behind Strange Fruit. It begins with three men in a jail cell in Marion, Indiana. It ends with two deaths, one life spared, and a photograph that has become the most iconic image of lynching in America. A warning, this story contains some disturbing and graphic descriptions of the lynching. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The story of William Cimillo, a New York City bus driver who snapped one day in 1947, left his regular route in the Bronx, and drove his municipal bus down to Florida. This story originally aired on This American Life. *** Radio Diaries is a non-profit organization. We couldn’t do this work without support from our listeners. If you like this podcast, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution before December 31st. Go to www.radiodiaries.org to donate.   Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A new story from our series The Working Tapes. In the early 1970’s, author Studs Terkel interviewed the owners of Duke & Lee’s Auto Repair in Geneva, Illinois for his book Working. He went to talk to them about fixing cars. What he found was a story about fathers and sons working together… and the tensions within a family business. We at Radio Diaries, went back to Duke & Lee’s four decades later and found the family business still intact — tensions at all. Studs recorded more than 130 interviews for Working, but most of them have never been heard. A few years ago, Radio Diaries and Project& were given access to all the raw field recordings and combed through the archive to produce, The Working Tapes. Find Parts 1 – 3 of that series on past episodes of the Radio Diaries Podcast. *** We’ve just launched our year-end fundraising campaign and we’re asking for your support. This year we’ve celebrated our 20th anniversary and some of our biggest stories to date including Majd’s Diary: Two Years in the Life of a Saudi Girl. Next year we’ll be producing two new diaries and new stories from our series The History of Now. Radio Diaries is a non-profit organization, we couldn’t do this work without the support of our listeners. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation and THANK YOU! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Author James Baldwin once wrote, “I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason: I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” Criticism — and dissent — are patriotic. In fact, one of the most important strands of the American DNA, is protest. From the Boston Tea Party, to the Republican Tea Party. From Civil Rights marches to Occupy Wall Street. But it’s how the government and the institutions of power respond to dissent that is really the test of any democracy. On this episode of Radio Diaries, we go back to 1932 when a group of World War I veterans set up an encampment in Washington D.C. and vowed to stay until their voices were heard. It was a remarkable chapter in American history, and a demonstration of the power of citizens to come together for a cause. But, in the end, it didn’t turn out so well. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This election season, our country seems more politically divided than ever. The race has been so ugly that it’s hard to even imagine a time when Republicans and Democrats could agree on anything at all. In this podcast episode, we’re going back more than 75 years, to another hard-fought election. In 1940, FDR squared off against Wendell Willkie. And during the campaign, the Republicans, the Democrats, and even the Communist Party managed to agree on one thing: A song. It was an unlikely hit. The song was a kind of folk opera, sung by a Black man, that ran 10 minutes. But whether you were on the left or the right, the song’s populist message had something for everyone. It debuted on a national radio broadcast, on November 5, 1939. Producer Ben Shapiro brings us the story of “Ballad for Americans.” *** Additional music in this episode comes from the band Broke for Free. *** Harry’s Razors is offering a special deal to our listeners. Receive a free “shave balm” when you enter the code DIARIES at www.Harrys.com. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A private eye, a jockey, a hotel piano player….voices from The Working Tapes. In the early 1970’s, author Studs Terkel went around the country with a reel-to-reel tape recorder interviewing people about their jobs for his book, “Working.” It was a surprise bestseller. But until now, few of these interviews have ever been heard before. For decades, the reel-to-reel tapes were packed away in Terkel’s home office. Over the past year, Radio Diaries, along with Project&, combed through them to produce this series. *** There are only 3 days left to contribute to the Radiotopia annual fundraising campaign! Radiotopia is the podcast collective that we belong to. Even a $1/month donation will make a big difference. If we reach 5000 new donors, our sponsor, FreshBooks, will contribute $40K to the network. So please donate to Radiotopia today. http://radiotopia.fm Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A Chicago police officer, a female advertising executive, a gravedigger……voices from The Working Tapes. In the early 1970’s, author Studs Terkel went around the country with a reel-to-reel tape recorder interviewing people about their jobs for his book, “Working.” It was a surprise bestseller. But until now, few of these interviews have ever been heard before. For decades, the reel-to-reel tapes were packed away in Terkel’s home office. Over the past year, Radio Diaries, along with Project&, combed through them to produce a new NPR series. This is the second episode of a three-part podcast series on The Working Tapes. Also – our podcast collective, Radiotopia, is in the middle of its annual fundraiser. If you’re a fan of the work we do, please show your love! Donate at http://radiotopia.fm This episode is sponsored by FreshBooks and The Grommet. FreshBooks is offering a 30 day free trial to our listeners. To claim it, go to http://www.FreshBooks.com/Diaries and enter Radio Diaries in the “How Did You Hear About Us?” section. And visit http://www.TheGrommet.com/Diaries to receive $10 off your first $50 purchase. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices