ABA South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project

10/15/2026

Unaccompanied children went without legal representation in 55% of nearly 50,000 immigration cases completed this year, the highest rate since 2019. Deportation orders for these children topped 7,300 in July, up from 2,000 in January 2025.

These are the numbers. In South Texas, we see the children behind them.

To support ProBAR's work, visit us online at abaprobar.org

For years, the government has helped secure lawyers for minors who arrive at the southern border. But a contract dispute has forced many children to face immigration judges on their own.

09/29/2026

CNN's visit to the Harlingen Immigration Court yesterday made their mainline news broadcast. Now the world is bearing witness to the unraveling of due process for immigrant children. To learn more about what ProBAR is doing to support these children, visit our website: https://abaprobar.org

Read the full story featuring words from ProBAR staff here: https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/28/politics/texas-immigration-court-minors

09/29/2026

“In the 20 years I have been in this field, I have never seen the immigration court strip children of their right to seek safety and protection under the law,” said Lauren Fisher Flores, Legal Director at ProBAR, who attended Monday’s hearing. “We are witnessing the unraveling of due process protections that have been enshrined in our laws for decades. Children deserve better than a fast-track deportation system.”

CNN visited our local Immigration Court yesterday with a sketch artist to report on just how dire things are for unaccompanied children in this moment. We are immensely thankful for their recognition of ProBAR's DORY hotline and the hard work our team is putting in to continue supporting immigrant children, now more than ever.

Read the full piece below.

Migrant children as young as 2 are showing up at immigration courts nationwide, many without attorneys, to try make their case to stay in the US and avoid deportation.

09/28/2026

Mark your calendars. 🗓️ ABA Giving Day 2026 is October 29.

This year, we're celebrating The Power of ProBAR—37 years of empowering immigrants and asylum-seekers at the South Texas border, connecting detained adults and children with legal information, screenings, and representation. More to come.

09/22/2026

09/21/2026

"Almost 80% of children in federal custody who arrived unaccompanied by a parent or legal guardian and who were placed in immigration court proceedings in July – and over 90% in August – have been funneled into shelter networks somewhere in Texas, a dramatic upswing from the months prior, according to analysis shared exclusively with the Guardian from researchers at the immigration data insights platform bklg.org."

As the leading legal service provider for detained immigrant children in South Texas, ProBAR is deeply concerned by these developments. Donate today to support our fight for children's rights: https://abaprobar.org/donate

Exclusive: Nearly 90% of children in federal custody being directed to GOP-controlled state that has unlicensed facilities and low legal representation rates

09/07/2026

It's been one year since the federal government attempted to deport Guatemalan children in the middle of the night. At least 76 children were taken from their beds in foster homes and ORR shelters under cover of night and put on a plane headed for their home country, a place many of them never wanted to see again.

But the plane never took off – because ProBAR was there. Our attorneys and advocates fanned out to shelters across the Rio Grande Valley, informing children of their legal rights and advocating against this attempt to violate those rights.

According to ProBAR’s records, more than 80 children have arrived in ORR detention in the last month, and we believe many of these children have not received legal orientation services required by law. So, to meet this growing legal crisis for children, the ProBAR team has launched an emergency legal services hotline, so that children in detention can still get access to high-quality legal information from our team of experts, over the phone.

This is what ProBAR does. This is what we stand for. Donate to ProBAR today and stand with us in the fight for children’s rights. https://abaprobar.org/donate

09/01/2026

This time last year, we were stopping planes. So many court battles, so many difficult changes, so much hard work. The lead Plaintiff in LGML v. Noem, the lawsuit at the heart of this horrific incident, is now safe and sound with her family in the US. This is what ProBAR does. This is what we stand for. Donate today and stand with us: https://abaprobar.org/donate

08/25/2026

This same week, ProBAR witnessed a 7-year-old child receive an order of Voluntary Departure from a judge at the Harlingen Immigration Court. The child, who had no attorney or Friend of Court present, was given 30 days to leave the United States before the judge's order would become an Order of Removal.

Countless vulnerable, unaccompanied children are being forced through a confusing system with no legal information and no one by their side. ProBAR is working to change that. Donate today: https://abaprobar.org/donate

08/20/2026