Immigrant Detainee Legal Rights Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1340 To provide for improvements in the treatment of detainees, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 25, 2021 Mr. FOSTER (for himself and Mr. DEUTCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To provide for improvements in the treatment of detainees, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Immigrant Detainee 4 Legal Rights Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. OFFICE OF LEGAL ACCESS PROGRAMS. 6 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF LEGAL ACCESS 7 PROGRAMS.—The Attorney General shall establish and 8 maintain, within the Executive Office for Immigration Re- 9 view, an Office of Legal Access Programs to develop and 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1340.IH H1340 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1340 IH administer a system of legal orientation programs to make 1 immigration proceedings more efficient and cost-effective 2 by educating aliens regarding administrative procedures 3 and legal rights under United States immigration law and 4 to establish other programs to assist in providing aliens 5 access to legal information. The Attorney General shall 6 submit a plan to Congress not later than 180 days after 7 the enactment of this Act including a schedule to develop 8 and deploy legal orientation programs for all detainees not 9 later than 1 year after the enactment of this Act. The 10 Attorney General shall seek input from nongovernmental 11 organizations and stakeholders in developing this plan. 12 (b) LEGAL ORIENTATION PROGRAMS.—The legal ori- 13 entation programs— 14 (1) shall provide programs to assist detained 15 aliens in making informed and timely decisions re- 16 garding their removal and eligibility for relief from 17 removal in order to increase efficiency and reduce 18 costs in immigration proceedings and Federal cus- 19 tody processes and to improve access to counsel and 20 other legal services; 21 (2) shall ensure that programs and written no- 22 tice of rights are available in English and the five 23 most common native languages spoken by the de- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1340.IH H1340 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1340 IH tainees held in custody at that location during the 1 preceding fiscal year; 2 (3) shall identify unaccompanied alien children, 3 aliens with a serious mental disability, and other 4 particularly vulnerable aliens for consideration by 5 the Attorney General pursuant to section 292(c) of 6 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by 7 section 3502(c); and 8 (4) may provide services to detained aliens in 9 immigration proceedings under sections 235, 238, 10 240, and 241(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nation- 11 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225, 1228, 1229a, and 12 1231(a)(5)) and to other aliens in immigration and 13 asylum proceedings under sections 235, 238, and 14 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 15 U.S.C. 1225, 1228, and 1229a). 16 (c) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary of Homeland Se- 17 curity, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall es- 18 tablish procedures that ensure that legal orientation pro- 19 grams are available for all detained aliens within 5 days 20 of arrival into custody and to inform such aliens of the 21 basic procedures of immigration hearings, their rights re- 22 lating to those hearings under the immigration laws, infor- 23 mation that may deter such aliens from filing frivolous 24 legal claims, and any other information deemed appro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1340.IH H1340 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1340 IH priate by the Attorney General, such as a contact list of 1 potential legal resources and providers. 2 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub- 3 section shall be construed to create any substantive or pro- 4 cedural right or benefit that is legally enforceable by any 5 party against the United States or its agencies or officers 6 or any other person. 7 (e) FUNDING.—There shall be appropriated such 8 sums as may be necessary to carry out this section. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1340.IH H1340 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS