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. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Immigrant Detainee 

5 Legal Rights Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OFFICE OF LEGAL ACCESS PROGRAMS. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF LEGAL ACCESS

8 PROGRAMS.—The Attorney General shall establish and 

9 maintain, within the Executive Office for Immigration Re10 view, an Office of Legal Access Programs to develop and 


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1 administer a system of legal orientation programs to make 

2 immigration proceedings more efficient and cost-effective 

3 by educating aliens regarding administrative procedures 

4 and legal rights under United States immigration law and 

5 to establish other programs to assist in providing aliens 

6 access to legal information. The Attorney General shall 

7 submit a plan to Congress not later than 180 days after 

8 the enactment of this Act including a schedule to develop 

9 and deploy legal orientation programs for all detainees not 

10 later than 1 year after the enactment of this Act. The 

11 Attorney General shall seek input from nongovernmental 

12 organizations and stakeholders in developing this plan. 

13 (b) LEGAL ORIENTATION PROGRAMS.—The legal ori14 entation programs— 

15 (1) shall provide programs to assist detained 

16 aliens in making informed and timely decisions re17 garding their removal and eligibility for relief from 

18 removal in order to increase efficiency and reduce 

19 costs in immigration proceedings and Federal cus20 tody processes and to improve access to counsel and 

21 other legal services; 

22 (2) shall ensure that programs and written no23 tice of rights are available in English and the five 

24 most common native languages spoken by the deVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1340.IH H1340

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1 tainees held in custody at that location during the 

2 preceding fiscal year; 

3 (3) shall identify unaccompanied alien children, 

4 aliens with a serious mental disability, and other 

5 particularly vulnerable aliens for consideration by 

6 the Attorney General pursuant to section 292(c) of 

7 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by 

8 section 3502(c); and 

9 (4) may provide services to detained aliens in 

10 immigration proceedings under sections 235, 238, 

11 240, and 241(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nation12 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225, 1228, 1229a, and 

13 1231(a)(5)) and to other aliens in immigration and 

14 asylum proceedings under sections 235, 238, and 

15 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

16 U.S.C. 1225, 1228, and 1229a). 

17 (c) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary of Homeland Se18 curity, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall es19 tablish procedures that ensure that legal orientation pro20 grams are available for all detained aliens within 5 days 

21 of arrival into custody and to inform such aliens of the 

22 basic procedures of immigration hearings, their rights re23 lating to those hearings under the immigration laws, infor24 mation that may deter such aliens from filing frivolous 

25 legal claims, and any other information deemed approVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:55 Mar 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1340.IH H1340

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1 priate by the Attorney General, such as a contact list of 

2 potential legal resources and providers. 

3 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub4 section shall be construed to create any substantive or pro5 cedural right or benefit that is legally enforceable by any 

6 party against the United States or its agencies or officers 

7 or any other person. 

8 (e) FUNDING.—There shall be appropriated such 

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

Æ 


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