In a ranch house up a red dirt cattle road, Brian Hoffman explained to the 13 attorneys before him the challenge at hand.
The volunteer lawyers had come from across the country — from Chicago and New York, Washington and Minneapolis — to represent immigrants held at the detention center in Dilley.
One was paid by a small federal program the Obama administration created to address the surge in unaccompanied youths crossing the border illegally, known as justice AmeriCorps. But most raised the money themselves to cover their expenses, about $2,000 each.
Four didn't speak Spanish.