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South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR)
The South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR) is a national effort to provide pro bono legal services to asylum seekers detained in South Texas by the United States government. The project recruits, trains and coordinates the activities of volunteer attorneys, law students and legal assistants. ProBAR is a joint project of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. The Texas Access to Justice Foundation provides support to this project.
25th Anniversary Video
State Bar of Texas Pro Bono Award
(Pictured from left to right: Meghan Johnson, Managing Attorney of the ProBAR Children's Project; Trey Apffel, 2014-2015 President of the State Bar of Texas; Kimi Jackson, Director of ProBAR.)
In 2015, the State Bar of Texas honored ProBAR with its “Pro Bono Award” in recognition of outstanding contributions to the provision of legal assistance to low-income Texans.
Employment Opportunities
ProBAR is currently looking to fill several positions. For these and other career opportunities at the American Bar Association, please visit the ABA Career Center. All ProBAR positions are available in Harlingen, Texas.
Volunteer Opportunities
There are a number of ways in which interested attorneys, law students, recent law graduates, legal assistants, and interpreters may participate:
- Long-term attorney volunteers stay in South Texas for a period of two weeks, a month, or longer, and handle a number of cases in immigration court. Living and travel stipends may be available to qualified persons;
- Short-term attorney volunteers are assigned one or more asylum cases in advance and travel to South Texas to represent detained asylum seekers at their immigration court hearings;
- Law students, recent law school graduates, legal assistants, and interpreters, under attorney supervision, help complete applications, develop supporting documentation and legal memoranda, and prepare applicants to testify at their hearings. Proficiency in the Spanish language is preferred, but not required;
- Volunteer attorneys outside of South Texas represent on appeal applicants denied asylum in the immigration courts, or assist persons applying for asylum in their own communities; and
- Experienced immigration attorneys present training seminars and serve as attorney mentors to ProBAR volunteers.
For more information, please contact us.
A project of the
American Bar Association
State Bar of Texas
American Immigration Lawyers Association
Donate to ProBAR
Please make sure to select "Commission on Immigration - ProBAR" under designation.
AILA Presents Meredith Linsky with the 2012 Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award
AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 12061441 (posted Jun. 14, 2012)
Thank you Meredith for the dedication and leadership you continue to bring to ProBAR's clients, volunteers, staff, and commuinty. Your compassion and commitment are inspiring to us all. Congratulations Meredith!
© Steven Rubin
"With the immigration law’s harsh new restrictions on asylum, ProBAR volunteer attorneys are needed more than ever to ensure that legitimate refugees are not sent back to their oppressors. For many refugees, ProBAR is literally a lifeline. It’s in the highest tradition of American justice, and it deserves broad support in communities across the country."
Senator Edward M. Kennedy
"ProBAR offers vital legal assistance to refugees from around the world who have nowhere else to turn. At the same time, it provides our attorneys with unique hands-on court experience. The volunteers return with invaluable legal training, greater understanding of U.S. immigration laws, and a dedication to human rights."
Edith Hofmeister, Esq.
Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, L.L.P.
San Francisco, California
"Volunteer attorneys are key to this program. Nonimmigration attorneys may initially feel uneasy working in an unfamiliar area of the law, but with some training and guidance they can very competently handle asylum cases -- and appreciate how hopelessly lost a refugee might be without legal assistance."
Marcos Ronquillo, Esq.
Dallas, Texas
