The League of United Latin American Citizens Greg Abbott to allow the Texas Rangers to apply for a special visa on behalf of unaccompanied children coming to the U.S says the Texas Rangers could apply for what is known as an S visa This is a special type of visa that could be granted to an unauthorized immigrant who cooperates with law enforcement in a criminal investigation “Once you have that application filed and then you get a hearing date with an immigration judge the fact that you have that application filed usually lets the immigration judge basically stay the case or leave it pending or continue the case until that visa is adjudicated,” Dubove said “So just filing the application helps the kids down the road when they go before an immigration judge.” LULAC’s request comes after Abbott said migrant children are being brought to the U.S by human traffickers or being used as drug mules Dubove joined LULAC members on Wednesday across from the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center which is housing about 2,000 immigrant teen boys The federal government is leasing part of the convention center from the City of Dallas and will temporarily house up to 2,300 teens LULAC is also urging Abbott to direct the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to work with the U.S Department of Health and Human Services to place migrant children in temporary foster homes until they can be connected with a family member or sponsor in the U.S It also wants HHS to grant temporary legal status to the children and connect them with a relative within three days LULAC President Domingo Garcia said his biggest frustration with this issue is what he describes as a lack of transparency and lack of access inside the immigration facilities He’s urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to allow community organizations and members of the media inside immigration detention centers and temporary facilities so they can see what conditions they’re in Garcia was also critical of the unification process in which migrant children are released to a relative or sponsor living in the U.S “We’re still not getting how many children were unified with their parents this week,” Garcia said Those numbers don’t really tell us the real story of do we have a positive solution to this humanitarian crisis?” Got a tip? Email Stella M. Chávez at schavez@kera.org. You can follow Stella on Twitter @stellamchavez KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today Express News Group's second event of its new Sips of Summer series “The Next Generation of Craft Beer” at Kidd Squid Brewing on Thursday Isla Panton and Harrison Schilling at Kidd Squid Brewing Rory McEvoy of Kidd Squid Brewing with Rob Raffa from übergeek The Express News Group hosted the second event of its new Sips of Summer series with “The Next Generation of Craft Beer” at Kidd Squid Brewing on Thursday übergeek and Kidd Squid offered their beer for tasting and spoke about the process of brewing using locally-grown products The third and final event of the Sips of Summer series will be held at the Sagaponack Distillery on Thursday You've read 4 of your 7 free articles this month Please log in or create an account to continue reading Young people who are in the country illegally face many tough questions Jessica Barron knows what it’s like to live in the shadows Her parents brought her to the U.S. illegally when she was two years old. She grew up here, graduated from high school with honors and enrolled at the University of North Texas' Dallas campus “I know I was very qualified for certain jobs,” Barron said I have the knowledge in so many areas and just not being able to take those opportunities that at some point were offered to me just because the fact that I did not have a social security [number].” “You feel like you have everything that it takes but A year ago, the Obama administration unveiled a program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or DACA This is not the DREAM Act that would give conditional permanent status it's a program with age limits and other tough restrictions you have to reapply after two years.  But waiting for her application to be approved was nerve-racking Today, Barron is the DACA coordinator for Catholic Charities of Dallas. The organization just received funding to reach out to counties beyond Dallas Catholic Charities Spokeswoman Rosalyn Vasquez says the need is obvious so they don’t really understand they need to go through this process.” says he believes word about the program has spread He said his office was flooded with potential applicants the first few months after the announcement “Unless you lived in a cave without electricity you knew this program was out there,” Dubove said “Concerns that what happens if my application is denied What happens if this program is not renewed in a year and a half What happens to my mom and dad because now immigration knows where my parents live?” Dubove said I think the majority of people who have held back and are eligible will apply.” She has two daughters who recently were granted temporary legal status hasn’t applied because she didn’t graduate from high school and dropped out of a GED program “We don’t know what will happen when President Obama leaves office,” Sanchez says We all work and my children went to school here.” Sanchez says immigrants who are working and haven’t committed a crime deserve to have the opportunity to live in the country legally Barron says she hopes more people will apply She says Catholic Charities isn’t charging individuals for assistance with their application and those who can’t afford the application fee can see if they’re eligible for financial assistance While it’s not the Dream Act as many had hoped “And so I just see it as a wonderful future for myself,” says Barron who would like to go to law school after graduating from UNT Barron will spend the next six months traveling to churches schools and community colleges getting the word out to other young immigrants.