From ProBAR Client to ProBAR Shelter Services Director: Cindy Bernal’s Inspiring Personal Journey

March 2023

This post originates on ABA’s Commission on Immigration’s blog titled, “Generating Justice: Immigration Reflections from the Border and Beyond.” The blog highlights analysis, insights, and reflections from expert Commission staff and members on the current immigration system.

When Cindy Bernal was a teenager, she faced the possibility of deportation and reached out to ProBAR to seek legal assistance. Through the power of pro bono legal services, Cindy ultimately received legal status and began a career helping others in their immigration journeys.

In late 2022, Cindy was promoted to ProBAR Shelter Services Director, a position in which she leads a team that serves tens of thousands of unaccompanied children each year.

In this blog, Commission on Immigration Program Associate Katie Sheridan shares Cindy’s immigration story, celebrates her professional accomplishments, and highlights the impact her dedicated, compassionate approach to legal services has made for children over the last decade.

Read more about Cindy’s immigration journey and her decade-long tenure at ProBAR here.