In mid-August, I joined our team at Port Isabel Detention Center to assist with our services and learn more about the current needs of the people we serve. I watched our talented team member provide a detailed Know Your Rights presentation when it quickly became apparent over half of the group of approximately 20 men had been transferred into ICE custody from a state jail run by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). They had been detained, pre-trial, under state misdemeanor criminal trespass charges as part of Texas Governor Abbott’s Operation Lone Star Program (OLS).
News & Updates
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The past quarter forced us to live out our values of resilience and adaptability as two tragedies hit close to home, border policy began a new chapter, and we welcomed back staff to our newly renovated office space. We also reflect upon the most recent ABA Commission on Immigration Pro Bono Week at ProBAR and much more in this edition of our newsletter.
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ProBAR seeks candidates for a 2024-2026 Equal Justice Works Fellowship for specific projects that address the unmet needs of immigrants in this southernmost border region of Texas.
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In May 2023, ProBAR’s Outreach Department was invited to the IDEA Public School’s Frontier campus in Brownsville, TX, to provide high school seniors with an insight into ProBAR’s work, services, and career paths within the organization. IDEA staff reached out to ProBAR expressing how important it felt for their seniors to learn about these topics.
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Title 42, and the coronavirus more generally, shaped the immigration landscape over the past several years. ProBAR staff responded proactively by shifting the scope and format of our work, services, and interactions with clients. Now, the team considers the future as a recently implemented policy is on the horizon: the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways.
ProBAR Supervising Attorney Luis Rios shares his perspective on this new immigration rule, and how it has shaped the work that we do.
