Critics claim the administration’s policies have resulted in thousands of detainees being separated from their children.  

American Bar Association (ABA) President Hilarie Bass recently visited the Rio Grand Valley in Texas to advocate for due process protections for those being held. Bass was accompanied by Kimi Jackson, director of the South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project (ProBAR) to assess the situation.

ProBAR is a joint project of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the State Bar of Texas, and the ABA. According to information from the coalition, it seeks to provide asylum seekers in Texas with pro bono law services.

“We are going to work hard to find Spanish-speaking lawyers with immigration knowledge who can help these people with legitimate asylum claims,” Bass said.

A separate initiative from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sought to reunite parents and children through litigation. Further, it sought a temporary restraining order to prevent the deportation of the separated families, fearing a lack of oversight and due process for the detainees.

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from deporting forcibly separated children and parents, according to information from the ACLU, until at least July 23. A preliminary injunction won by the ALCU would require all separated children to be reunited by July 26.

“The judge once again made clear that the government unconstitutionally took these children away and now must do everything in its power to reunite them safely and by the deadline,” said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw issued the stay pending further briefing, according to information from the advocacy group.

On behalf of the ABA, Bass visited the U.S. District Court in McAllento to witness the prosecution of 75 migrants accused of entering the country illegally. According to information from the Bar, many of the detainees had met attorneys from the public defender’s office for a few minutes.

Bass, along with Jackson, also met with 10 mothers separated from their children, who reportedly did not know the location of their children and did not have access to a lawyer.

Bass is coordinating an ABA response to the “crisis” with a fundraising effort for ProBAR and is coordinating volunteers to represent the parents and children.

Trump has vowed to keep families together to the extent the law allows and has sought a legislative solution to “fix our dysfunctional immigration system,” according to information from the White House.

 President Trump signed an Executive Order to allow the Administration to “continue to protect the border with our zero-tolerance policy,” but also avoid separations when possible, according to the White House. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is working toward modifying a settlement agreement preventing Immigration and Customs Enforcement from detaining families together for a period greater than 20 days.

“It’s about keeping families together, while at the same time, being sure that we have a very powerful, very strong border,” Trump said.