We are Texas RioGrande Legal Aid!!!!

Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) provides free civil legal services to low-income and disadvantaged residents of Central, South and West Texas, serving communities within 68 Texas counties-including the entire 1,200 mile Texas-Mexico border. TRLA provides legal assistance to more than 20,000 residents every year.

In 2006, TRLA received a grant from the Department of Health and Human Services to provide outreach to vulnerable populations and identify and assist victims of human trafficking.

Getting Victims of Human Trafficking the Help They Need

TRLA helps victims of trafficking by:

* Advising victims of their rights and possible legal remedies.
* Acting as a liaison between victims and law enforcement.
* Applying for T or U visas that allow victims to stay in the country legally.
* Applying for family re-unification visas that will bring the victims’ family members to the country.
* Assisting victims to access housing, food stamps, cash, and medical assistance.
* Filing civil lawsuits against traffickers, such as civil rights, wage and tort claims.
* Providing legal services to victims that are minors.
* Making referrals to social service organizations and connecting victims with resources needed to regain control of their lives.

Recent Events

Oh No! I haven’t been keeping up on these updates!

—We will be going up north to do outreach in the great Panhandle of Texas the last few weeks of Sept. 2009! There have been many tips of labor exploitation going on in meat packing plants up north. Now that we know there are immigrants from all over the world in the small towns up north, we realize a lot of exploitation could be occurring. I will keep you up-to-date on the latest about our trip!

Well I have been posting the different events we’ve been doing. We are always dispersing information around town and in all the towns we work in.

We have recently held meetings with different groups around town to help with trafficking outreach.

We have also done outreach in the richer communities in San Antonio.

We have also done outreach in Brownsville and South Padre Island, including Port Isabel where there is a large vulnerable population.

We also keep plugging along in building relationships with Immigration and law enforcement in every city we work in, and we give presentations to social service providers as well.

Let us know if you have any other suggestions!

Laredo

Our most recent event was in Laredo, Texas with a few different groups. We held a training for Avance Laredo, a small NGO that gives parenting classes. These classes are aimed at those who have a strong desire to take ESL courses and eventually move on to take their GED. The women there were amazing! They knew their immigration law to a tee! We helped them understand the difference between human trafficking and smuggling, and it was a great success!

We also held a training for new cadets at Laredo Police Department. The new cadets were very interested in trafficking and found themselves asking us, “Who do we go to if we find a victim of trafficking?” We realized we need to have a meeting with ICE in Laredo in order to coordinate  local law enforcement and federal law enforcement efforts to help victims of trafficking.

We spoke with the Laredo Sheriff’s Dept. as well. The detectives were quite knowledgeable on the issue, but the street officers were not as savvy. After our training, though, they understood that contacting TRLA or the trafficking hotline might be a way to help them help a victim.

Finally, our meeting with the Mexican Consulate went amazingly well. They are so interested in collaborating with us and using our outreach materials in the Laredo Colonias and helping their residents with immigration issues, including helping their clients obtain human trafficking visas.

Eagle Pass

What a fantastic experience! In January we made some great contacts in Eagle Pass. We had a community meeting at the Mexcian Consulate and taught the community all they need to know about human trafficking! Well, as much as we could in an hour! They were a great group and they wanted further resources from us.

We also spoke with the women’s  shelter in Carrizo Springs. The staff allowed us to come share some tips with them on human trafficking and how to identify victims that they deal with everyday. What nice people they were!

We made some great media contacts as well in Del Rio, Uvalde and Eagle Pass.

The Valley

We made some great contacts with local law enforcement in Port Isabel, and Brownsville and federal agents in Harlingen, McAllen, and Brownsville.

San Antonio and Austin Human Trafficking Coalitions

The TRLA outreach coordinator stays involved in both coalitions and she will keep you up-to-date on the latest going on with each group.

The PanHandle April 2009

We traveled to this region to investigate various dairy farm activities. We heard there may have been human trafficking and labor exploitation going on in some of the dairies. Will get back to you more on this later….

Past Functions

We had a community meeting  on November 17th, 2007 at the Men’s Resource Center in Harlingen. The documentary DEMAND, produced by Hope International was shown. After the film we had a discussion on sex trafficking and different ways to raise awareness in our community.

Members from the Valley World Peace Alliance spoke about their work with the Coalition of Immokalee workers, who recently were awarded the 2007 Anti-Slavery Award, for their work on modern day slavery rings occurring in Florida. The Anti-Slavery award is given yearly since 1991 by Anti-Slavery International.

Also in attendance were professor Jared Montoya from the University of Texas-Brownsville, Jenny Clark-chair of the Women’s Studies Committee at South Texas College and Diane Eason and Gladis Molina from Pro-BAR (South Texas Pro Bono Asylum Representation Project). Frank Coulson-a career counselor in UTB/TSC’s Student Success Center, Iris Rivera-Diaz from the American Federation of Teachers and several Sisters from The School Sisters of Notre Dame from Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley were also able to join us for the meeting.

Two community organizations joined the STOP HUMAN TRAFFICKING TODAY PROJECT, an outreach and community education effort. They understand that public awareness of this problem is the best way to stop this modern-day form of slavery. They are committed to this humanitarian project, and their organizations, along with their staff and members will cooperate with the community in this community outreach program.

The following are members of the STOP HUMAN TRAFFICKING TODAY PROJECT:

Men’s Resource Center of south Texas–a community based organization that supports men’s journey as they challenge violence and oppression.

Women’s Studies Committee of South Texas College–
Visit their site to view the Call for Papers and Call for Artists for the 2008 Sex-Trafficking Conference and 3rd Annual Human Rights Art Exhibition.

Yes! Our organization wants to join the campaign to stop human trafficking and bring awareness in our community.
sign up as a supporter or volunteer!

Community members watch the documentary DEMAND.