I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6839 

To provide for improvements in the treatment of detained persons, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 15, 2023 

Mr. FOSTER (for himself, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, and Ms. 

NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for improvements in the treatment of detained 

persons, 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 Detained 

5 Persons 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 noncitizens regarding administrative proce4 dures and legal rights under United States immigration 

5 law and to establish other programs to assist in providing 

6 noncitizens access to legal information. The Attorney Gen7 eral shall submit a plan to Congress not later than 180 

8 days after the enactment of this Act including a schedule 

9 to develop and deploy legal orientation programs for all 

10 detained persons not later than 1 year after the enactment 

11 of this Act. The Attorney General shall seek input from 

12 nongovernmental organizations and stakeholders in devel13 oping this plan. 

14 (b) LEGAL ORIENTATION PROGRAMS.—The legal ori15 entation programs— 

16 (1) shall provide programs to assist noncitizens 

17 in or released from custody in making informed and 

18 timely decisions regarding their removal and eligi19 bility for relief from removal in order to increase ef20 ficiency and reduce costs in immigration proceedings 

21 and Federal custody processes and to improve access 

22 to counsel and other legal services; 

23 (2) shall ensure that programs and written no24 tice of rights are available in English and the five 

25 most common native languages spoken by the deVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:31 Jan 03, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6839.IH H6839

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1 tained persons held in custody at that location dur2 ing the preceding fiscal year; 

3 (3) shall identify unaccompanied noncitizen 

4 children, noncitizens with a serious mental disability, 

5 and other particularly vulnerable noncitizens for con6 sideration by the Attorney General pursuant to sec7 tion 292(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 

8 as added by section 3502(c); and 

9 (4) may provide services to noncitizens in immi10 gration proceedings under sections 235, 238, 240, 

11 and 241(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality 

12 Act (8 U.S.C. 1225, 1228, 1229a, and 1231(a)(5)) 

13 and to other noncitizens in immigration and asylum 

14 proceedings under sections 235, 238, and 240 of the 

15 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225, 

16 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 noncitizens in or released from 

21 custody within 5 days of arrival into custody and to inform 

22 such noncitizens of the basic procedures of immigration 

23 hearings, their rights relating to those hearings under the 

24 immigration laws, information that may deter such non25 citizens from filing frivolous legal claims, and any other 


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1 information deemed appropriate by the Attorney General, 

2 such as a contact list of potential legal resources and pro3 viders. 

4 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub5 section shall be construed to create any substantive or pro6 cedural right or benefit that is legally enforceable by any 

7 party against the United States or its agencies or officers 

8 or any other person. 

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

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

Æ 


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