Opening for Paralegal
South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR)
Children’s Project
A Project of the American Bar Association Commission on Immigration
119 W. Van Buren Ave., Suite 204
Harlingen, Texas 78550
Tel: (956) 365-3775
Fax: (956) 365-3789
Paralegal Job Description:
ProBAR will soon have a paralegal position available in its Immigrant Children’s Assistance Project. The role of a ProBAR paralegal is different than the traditional paralegal position in a law office. Joining the team of ProBAR paralegals means becoming a professional advocate for detained immigrant children who are in danger of deportation. ProBAR prepares the paralegals to provide challenging and interesting services that include visiting the children’s detention centers on a weekly basis to provide legal orientations, conduct individual screenings and workshops to prepare children for successful client-attorney relationships and empower them as respondents before immigration authorities.
ProBAR’s attorneys and paralegals work closely as a team. In addition to working directly with children, ProBAR paralegals maintain data and answer telephone calls from child immigrants who call from every corner of the US. They also work closely with attorneys, learning from them and assisting them and their child-clients in the preparation of cases, and sharing in the efforts and rewards of providing high quality assistance to a deserving population. Some ProBAR paralegals, after a long period of working for ProBAR, eventually apply to become BIA Accredited Representatives, which enables them to represent clients before the Immigration Court and USCIS.
ProBAR's Children's Office currently has ten attorneys and 19 paralegals. Salaries are competitive, benefits are generous, and living in South Texas is comfortable and affordable. Our top-notch team is doing innovative work in areas such as Special Immigrant Juvenile, asylum, T and U visas, DACA and Border Patrol abuse.
For information, email a cover letter and resume to ProBAR Children’s Project Director Kimi Jackson, kimi.probar@gmail.com.
Qualifications:
ProBAR seeks applicants who are fluent in Spanish and have a four-year degree, a strong work ethic and are excited about an opportunity to help detained immigrant children in the border region.
What Is ProBAR?
The mission of the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR) is to provide high quality representation to indigent immigrants and asylum-seekers in South Texas. ProBAR, established in 1989, is a joint project of the American Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). ProBAR has two offices in Harlingen, Texas. One serves the local population of adults in immigration detention at the Port Isabel Detention Center in Los Fresnos, Texas.
The other, known as the Children’s Project , serves the population of nearly 1500 detained, unaccompanied children at Office of Refugee Resettlement shelters across the Rio Grande Valley. ProBAR serves the highest volume of unaccompanied minors in the nation. ProBAR’s services include “Know Your Rights” presentations, pro se assistance, pro bono representation, and direct representation by ProBAR attorneys and Accredited Representatives. The children ProBAR serves mainly come from Central America. They range in age from newborn infants to 17. Most do not speak English and have limited educations. They are often victims of violence in their homes, their communities, or during their journey to the U.S. Many are eligible for protection under U.S. law, including Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, the U and T visas, and asylum. Over the years, ProBAR Children's Project has developed innovative legal theories for children applying for asylum and other forms of relief, and ProBAR's methods of working with Central American youth have been used as a national model.
Harlingen is located in the southernmost tip of Texas, less than an hour from the Mexican border and from South Padre Island. The Rio Grande Valley has three airports and is one of the fastest-growing areas in the country.
Learn more about ProBAR here:
Click on "ProBAR Children's Project."
Kimi Jackson
Director
South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR)
301 E. Madison Ave.
Harlingen, TX 78550
tele: (956) 425-9231
fax: (956) 425-9233
ProBAR is a project of the American Bar Association Commission on Immigration.
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