In the early summer of 2014, tens of thousands of Central American women and children streamed over the border as a result of surging gang violence in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. In El Salvador, gang-related killings pushed the homicide rate to record levels. Upon crossing into Texas, the individuals, including children as young as 8 traveling alone, turned themselves over to border patrol agents and asked for refuge.
Jones Day managing partner Steven Brogan was among the many spurred to action by the poignant broadcasts of children in detention; in early summer, he dispatched the firm’s pro bono head Laura Tuell to the Lone Star State to find out how the firm could help.
