Mission Statement (What We Do)

We work to advance the human rights of all migrants by increasing legal knowledge and access to legal services.

We carry out our mission by providing free and low-cost legal services to detained, low-income immigrants facing removal from the United States at the third largest adult detention center in the U.S.: the South Texas Detention Complex located 65 miles southwest of San Antonio in Pearsall, Texas (bed capacity: 1900).

South Texas Detention Facility 

South Texas Detention Complex

(currently housing adult men)

We support all immigrants regardless of nationality, race / ethnicity / tribe, religion, political opinion, gender, sexual orientation / gender identity, or age.

Vision Statement (What We Hope for the World)

We envision a world where all detained migrants have access to the legal knowledge and legal services necessary to protect and fully exercise their human rights.

[R]ecognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.

– Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Key Human Rights We Work to Protect

We work to ensure every migrant’s rights are recognized and respected, both by helping them flee situations of persecution and by helping them access their rights here in the United States. These include:

    • The right to seek asylum
    • The right to life
    • The right to liberty and security, including freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention
    • The right to be free from torture, including the right to humane conditions of detention such as appropriate medical care and nutrition
    • The right to due process before a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal, including the right to the presumption of innocence
    • The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
    • The right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the freedom of assembly and association
    • The right to take part in the government of one’s country
    • The right to marry and found a family
    • The right to choose one’s employment and work in just conditions
    • The right to be treated equally

 

Core Values

We strive to incorporate the following core values into all of our actions and decision-making:

    • Integrity
    • Empathy
    • Transparency