South Texas Human Rights Center is a bee hive of activity

A man came to the South Texas Human Rights Center in Falfurrias representing the family of a young man who was seemingly lost in Brooks County attempting to safely cross the border by going around the border fence (the funnel effect). Eddie Canales, the director of the STHRC, has been working with the family and the family representative as well as the Border Patrol and the Brooks County Sheriff's Office in order to facilitate a search and rescue or search and recovery.

In addition, a Guatemalan woman who was left behind by the smuggled group, whom STHRC was assisting with last week, was found deceased in Brooks County within the last two days. Border crossings have not stopped with the colder nights and endless rain.

A group of four professors and 42 law students from the University of Texas School of Law stopped at the STHRC for an orientation before they join local southern partners to provide free legal services ( U Visa, DACA) for those caught in the immigration system.

Recently, group of eight students from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minnesota, began an 8-day immersion experience extending from Austin to Brownsville. If you are interested in joining a 4-person 8-day immersion experience, we have a spot open in the trip scheduled for Feb. 21-28. The cost is $75/day or $600. Please contact me at [email protected]. We will fill the spot on a first come-first serve basis.

Sophie, an intern from Oberlin College, joined us on Monday for three weeks of research and assistance at the STHRC.

The STHRC Web site is being updated. Thank you Ryan Strand.

And last but not least, Wendy called me from Guatemala on Christmas to tell me that she had arrived safely and is home with her family in Guatemala after one full year in detention. God is good!