American Bar Association President Meets Asylum Seekers In Rio Grande Valley
The new president of the American Bar Association recently completed a tour of the Rio Grande Valley.
Judy Perry Martinez visited detention facilities, spoke with asylum seekers across the border in Mexico, and observed immigration court proceedings. Texas Public Radio’s Reynaldo Leaños Jr. sat down with her at an immigration office in Harlingen, where she talked about her second visit to the border in the last two years.
Leaños: This isn't your first time you know coming down to the border. You were here last year as well. Do things look different to you being down here this second time around compared to last year? And if so, what are those differences that you’ve seen?
Perry Martinez: What we're seeing I think is a significant influx of individuals. We're also continuing to see the issue of separation of families in the Rio Grande Valley, and I know that there's been court orders with regard to the separation of families. But we're still seeing cases in fact just this week when I was at immigration court I sat in the courtroom and observed a very young tender age young man who sat in his shirt and tie with his coloring book and crayons and he had counsel with him but he in his proceedings are the result of the fact that he even separated from his father.
Read more: https://www.tpr.org/post/american-bar-association-president-meets-asylum-seekers-rio-grande-valley