I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4646 

To provide access to counsel for children and other vulnerable populations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2016 

Ms. LOFGREN (for herself, Mr. GUTIE ́RREZ, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. 

HOYER, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. HONDA, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. 

JACKSON LEE, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. O’ROURKE, Ms. JUDY

CHU of California, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Mr. BECERRA, 

Mr. VARGAS, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. POLIS, 

Mr. CROWLEY, Mrs. TORRES, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. NORTON, Ms. HAHN, 

Mr. SERRANO, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. 

MOORE, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. SIRES, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 

DEUTCH, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. KIND, Mr. 

COHEN, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, Mr. 

NADLER, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mrs. CAPPS, 

and Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide access to counsel for children and other 

vulnerable populations. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Day in Court 

3 for Kids Act of 2016’’. 

4 SEC. 2. IMPROVING IMMIGRATION COURT EFFICIENCY AND 

5 REDUCING COSTS BY INCREASING ACCESS 

6 TO LEGAL INFORMATION. 

7 (a) APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL IN CERTAIN CASES; 

8 RIGHT TO REVIEW CERTAIN DOCUMENTS IN REMOVAL

9 PROCEEDINGS.—Section 240(b) of the Immigration and 

10 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (4)— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘, at no expense to the 

14 Government,’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking the comma at the end 

16 and inserting a semicolon; 

17 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

18 and (C) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec19 tively; 

20 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(B) the Attorney General may appoint or 

23 provide counsel, at Government expense, to 

24 aliens in immigration proceedings; 

25 ‘‘(C) the alien shall, at the beginning of 

26 the proceedings or as expeditiously as possible, 


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1 automatically receive a complete copy of all rel2 evant documents in the possession of the De3 partment of Homeland Security, including all 

4 documents (other than documents protected 

5 from disclosure by privilege, including national 

6 security information referred to in subpara7 graph (D), law enforcement sensitive informa8 tion, and information prohibited from disclosure 

9 pursuant to any other provision of law) con10 tained in the file maintained by the Government 

11 that includes information with respect to all 

12 transactions involving the alien during the im13 migration process (commonly referred to as an 

14 ‘A-file’), and all documents pertaining to the 

15 alien that the Department of Homeland Secu16 rity has obtained or received from other govern17 ment agencies, unless the alien waives the right 

18 to receive such documents by executing a know19 ing and voluntary written waiver in a language 

20 that he or she understands fluently;’’; and 

21 (D) in subparagraph (D), as redesignated, 

22 by striking ‘‘, and’’ and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(8) FAILURE TO PROVIDE ALIEN REQUIRED

25 DOCUMENTS.—In the absence of a waiver under 


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1 paragraph (4)(C), a removal proceeding may not 

2 proceed until the alien— 

3 ‘‘(A) has received the documents as re4 quired under such paragraph; and 

5 ‘‘(B) has been provided meaningful time to 

6 review and assess such documents.’’. 

7 (b) CLARIFICATION REGARDING THE AUTHORITY OF

8 THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO APPOINT COUNSEL TO

9 ALIENS IN IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS.—Section 292 of 

10 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘In any’’ and inserting the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any proceeding conducted 

15 under section 235, 236, 238, 240, 241, or any other sec16 tion of this Act,’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (a), as redesignated— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘(at no expense to the Gov19 ernment)’’; and 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘he shall’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘the person shall’’; and 

22 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(b) ACCESS TO COUNSEL.—The Attorney General 

24 may appoint or provide counsel to aliens in any proceeding 

25 conducted under section 235, 236, 238, 240, or 241 or 


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1 any other section of this Act. The Secretary of Homeland 

2 Security shall ensure that aliens have access to counsel 

3 inside all immigration detention and border facilities.’’. 

4 (c) APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL FOR CHILDREN AND

5 VULNERABLE ALIENS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 292 of the Immigra7 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362), as amend8 ed by subsection (b), is further amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(c) CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE ALIENS.—Not11 withstanding subsection (b), the Attorney General shall 

12 appoint counsel, at the expense of the Government if nec13 essary, at the beginning of the proceedings or as expedi14 tiously as possible, to represent in such proceedings any 

15 alien who has been determined by the Secretary of Home16 land Security or the Attorney General to be— 

17 ‘‘(1) a child (as defined in section 101(b)(1) of 

18 this Act); 

19 ‘‘(2) a particularly vulnerable individual, such 

20 as— 

21 ‘‘(A) a person with a disability; or 

22 ‘‘(B) a victim of abuse, torture, or violence; 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(3) an individual whose circumstances are 

25 such that the appointment of counsel is necessary to 


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1 help ensure fair resolution and efficient adjudication 

2 of the proceedings. 

3 ‘‘(d) EXTENSION TO CONSOLIDATED CASES.—If the 

4 Attorney General has consolidated the case of any alien 

5 for whom counsel was appointed under subsection (c) with 

6 that of any other alien, and that other alien does not have 

7 counsel, then the counsel appointed under subsection (c) 

8 shall be appointed to represent such other alien. 

9 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 is authorized to be appropriated to the Executive Office 

11 of Immigration Review of the Department of Justice such 

12 sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.’’. 

13 (2) RULEMAKING.—The Attorney General shall 

14 promulgate regulations to implement section 292(c) 

15 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by 

16 paragraph (1), in accordance with the requirements 

17 set forth in section 3006A of title 18, United States 

18 Code. 

19 SEC. 3. ACCESS BY COUNSEL AND LEGAL ORIENTATION AT 

20 DETENTION FACILITIES. 

21 (a) ACCESS TO COUNSEL.—The Secretary of Home22 land Security shall facilitate access to counsel for all aliens 

23 detained in facilities under the supervision of U.S. Immi24 gration and Customs Enforcement or of U.S. Customs and 

25 Border Protection, including providing information to 


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1 aliens in detention about legal services programs at deten2 tion facilities. 

3 (b) ACCESS TO LEGAL ORIENTATION PROGRAMS.— 

4 The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 

5 the Attorney General, shall establish procedures to ensure 

6 that legal orientation programs are available for all de7 tained aliens, including aliens held in U.S. Customs and 

8 Border Protection facilities, to inform such aliens of the 

9 basic procedures of immigration hearings, their rights re10 lating to those hearings under Federal immigration laws, 

11 information that may deter such aliens from filing frivo12 lous legal claims, and any other information that the At13 torney General considers appropriate, such as a contact 

14 list of potential legal resources and providers. Access to 

15 legal orientation programs shall not be limited by the 

16 alien’s current immigration status, prior immigration his17 tory, or potential for immigration relief. 

18 (c) PILOT PROJECT FOR NONDETAINED ALIENS IN

19 REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS.—The Attorney General shall 

20 develop and administer a 2-year pilot program at not 

21 fewer than 2 immigration courts to provide nondetained 

22 aliens with pending asylum claims access to legal informa23 tion. At the conclusion of the pilot program, the Attorney 

24 General shall submit a report to the Committee on the 

25 Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the JudiciVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 27, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4646.IH H4646

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1 ary of the House of Representatives that describes the ex2 tent to which nondetained aliens are provided with access 

3 to counsel. 

4 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

5 authorized to be appropriated to the Executive Office of 

6 Immigration Review of the Department of Justice such 

7 sums as may be necessary to carry out this section. 

8 SEC. 4. CASE MANAGEMENT PILOT PROGRAM TO INCREASE 

9 COURT APPEARANCE RATES. 

10 (a) CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of 

11 Homeland Security shall establish a pilot program to in12 crease the court appearance rates of aliens described in 

13 section 292(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 

14 added by section 2(c)(1), by contracting with nongovern15 mental, community-based organizations to provide appro16 priate case management services to such aliens. This pilot 

17 program shall not be used to monitor individuals des18 ignated as unaccompanied alien children under section 

19 462 of the Homeland Security Act. 

20 (b) SCOPE OF SERVICES.—Case management services 

21 provided under subsection (a) shall include assisting aliens 

22 with— 

23 (1) accessing legal counsel; 

24 (2) complying with court-imposed deadlines and 

25 other legal obligations; 


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1 (3) procuring appropriate housing; 

2 (4) enrolling their minor children in school; and 

3 (5) acquiring health services, including, if need4 ed, mental health services. 

5 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

6 authorized to be appropriated to the Department of 

7 Homeland Security such sums as may be necessary to 

8 carry out this section. 

9 SEC. 5. REPORT ON ACCESS TO COUNSEL. 

10 (a) REPORT.—Not later than December 31 of each 

11 year, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 

12 with the Attorney General, shall prepare and submit a re13 port to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

14 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep15 resentatives regarding the extent to which aliens described 

16 in section 292(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

17 as added by section 2(c)(1), have been provided access to 

18 counsel. 

19 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under sub20 section (a) shall include, for the immediately preceding 1- 

21 year period— 

22 (1) the number and percentage of aliens de23 scribed in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3), respectively, 

24 of section 292(c) of the Immigration and Nationality 

25 Act, as added by section 2(c)(1), who were repVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 27, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4646.IH H4646

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1 resented by counsel, including information speci2 fying— 

3 (A) the stage of the legal process at which 

4 the alien was represented; and 

5 (B) whether the alien was in government 

6 custody; and 

7 (2) the number and percentage of aliens who 

8 received legal orientation presentations. 

9 SEC. 6. MOTIONS TO REOPEN. 

10 Section 240(c)(7)(C) of the Immigration and Nation11 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(c)(7)(C)) is amended by adding 

12 at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(v) SPECIAL RULE FOR CHILDREN

14 AND OTHER VULNERABLE ALIENS.—If the 

15 Attorney General fails to appoint counsel 

16 for an alien in violation of section 292(c)— 

17 ‘‘(I) no limitation under this 

18 paragraph pertaining to the filing of 

19 any motion under this paragraph by 

20 such alien shall apply; and 

21 ‘‘(II) the filing of such a motion 

22 shall stay the removal of the alien.’’. 

Æ 


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