I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4155 

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 2, 2019 

Mr. MCEACHIN (for himself, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. NADLER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 

Mr. PALLONE, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. 

DEAN, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, 

Ms. ESHOO, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. VELA, Mr. SOTO, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. 

BASS, Mr. CORREA, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. NORTON, Ms. 

TLAIB, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. HASTINGS, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, 

Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. MENG, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, 

Mr. CUMMINGS, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Funding Attorneys for 

5 Indigent Removal (FAIR) Proceedings Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. IMPROVING IMMIGRATION COURT EFFICIENCY AND 

2 REDUCING COSTS BY INCREASING ACCESS 

3 TO LEGAL INFORMATION. 

4 (a) APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL IN CERTAIN CASES; 

5 RIGHT TO REVIEW CERTAIN DOCUMENTS IN REMOVAL

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

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

8 (1) in paragraph (4)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

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

11 Government,’’; and 

12 (ii) by striking the comma at the end 

13 and inserting a semicolon; 

14 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

15 and (C) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec16 tively; 

17 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

18 the following: 

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

20 provide counsel, at Government expense, to 

21 aliens in immigration proceedings; 

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

23 the proceedings or as expeditiously as possible, 

24 automatically receive a complete copy of all rel25 evant documents in the possession of the De26 partment of Homeland Security, including all 


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1 documents (other than documents protected 

2 from disclosure by privilege, including national 

3 security information referred to in subpara4 graph (D), law enforcement sensitive informa5 tion, and information prohibited from disclosure 

6 pursuant to any other provision of law) con7 tained in the file maintained by the Government 

8 that includes information with respect to all 

9 transactions involving the alien during the im10 migration process (commonly referred to as an 

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

12 alien that the Department of Homeland Secu13 rity has obtained or received from other govern14 ment agencies, unless the alien waives the right 

15 to receive such documents by executing a know16 ing and voluntary written waiver in a language 

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

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

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

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

21 ‘‘(8) FAILURE TO PROVIDE ALIEN REQUIRED

22 DOCUMENTS.—In the absence of a waiver under 

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

24 proceed until the alien— 


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1 ‘‘(A) has received the documents as re2 quired under such paragraph; and 

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

4 review and assess such documents.’’. 

5 (b) CLARIFICATION REGARDING THE AUTHORITY OF

6 THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO APPOINT COUNSEL TO

7 ALIENS IN IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS.—Section 292 of 

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

9 amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘In any’’ and inserting the fol11 lowing: 

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

13 under section 235, 236, 238, 240, 241, or any other sec14 tion of this Act, including’’; 

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

16 (A) by striking ‘‘(at no expense to the Gov17 ernment)’’; and 

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

19 ‘‘the person shall’’; and 

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

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

22 may appoint or provide counsel to aliens in any proceeding 

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

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


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1 Security shall ensure that aliens have access to counsel 

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

3 (c) APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL FOR CHILDREN AND

4 VULNERABLE ALIENS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 292 of the Immigra6 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362), as amend7 ed by subsection (b), is further amended by adding 

8 at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(c) CHILDREN AND VULNERABLE ALIENS.—Not10 withstanding subsection (b), the Attorney General shall 

11 appoint or provide counsel, at the expense of the Govern12 ment if necessary, at the beginning of the proceedings or 

13 as expeditiously as possible, to represent in such pro14 ceedings any alien who has been determined by the Sec15 retary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General to 

16 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 ‘‘(3) an individual whose income is at or below 

24 200 percent of the poverty line (as defined by the 

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1 nually in accordance with section 673(2) of the 

2 Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 

3 9902(2))) applicable to a family of the size involved; 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(4) an individual whose circumstances are 

6 such that the appointment of counsel is necessary to 

7 help ensure fair resolution and efficient adjudication 

8 of the proceedings. 

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

10 Attorney General has consolidated the case of any alien 

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

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

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

14 shall be appointed to represent such other alien. 

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

16 is authorized to be appropriated to the Executive Office 

17 of Immigration Review of the Department of Justice, in 

18 addition to amounts available in the Immigration Counsel 

19 Account under section 295, such sums as may be nec20 essary to carry out this section.’’. 

21 (2) RULEMAKING.—The Attorney General shall 

22 promulgate regulations to implement section 292(c) 

23 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by 

24 paragraph (1), in accordance with the requirements 


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

2 Code. 

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

4 DETENTION FACILITIES. 

5 (a) ACCESS TO COUNSEL.—The Secretary of Home6 land Security shall facilitate access to counsel for all aliens 

7 detained in facilities under the supervision of U.S. Immi8 gration and Customs Enforcement or of U.S. Customs and 

9 Border Protection, including providing information to 

10 aliens in detention about legal services programs at deten11 tion facilities. 

12 (b) ACCESS TO LEGAL ORIENTATION PROGRAMS.— 

13 The Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with 

14 the Attorney General, shall establish procedures to ensure 

15 that legal orientation programs are available for all de16 tained aliens, including aliens held in U.S. Customs and 

17 Border Protection facilities, to inform such aliens of the 

18 basic procedures of immigration hearings, their rights re19 lating to those hearings under Federal immigration laws, 

20 information that may deter such aliens from filing frivo21 lous legal claims, and any other information that the At22 torney General considers appropriate, such as a contact 

23 list of potential legal resources and providers. Access to 

24 legal orientation programs shall not be limited by the 


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1 alien’s current immigration status, prior immigration his2 tory, or potential for immigration relief. 

3 SEC. 4. REPORT ON ACCESS TO COUNSEL. 

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

5 year, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation 

6 with the Attorney General, shall prepare and submit a re7 port to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

8 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep9 resentatives regarding the extent to which aliens described 

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

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

12 counsel. 

13 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under para14 graph (a) shall include, for the immediately preceding 1- 

15 year period— 

16 (1) the number and percentage of aliens de17 scribed in paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4), respec18 tively, of section 292(c) of the Immigration and Na19 tionality Act, as added by section 2(c)(1), who were 

20 represented by counsel, including information speci21 fying— 

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

23 the alien was represented; and 

24 (B) whether the alien was in government 

25 custody; and 


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1 (2) the number and percentage of aliens who 

2 received legal orientation presentations. 

3 SEC. 5. MOTIONS TO REOPEN. 

4 Section 240(c)(7)(C) of the Immigration and Nation5 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(c)(7)(C)) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(v) SPECIAL RULE FOR ALIENS EN8 TITLED TO APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL.— 

9 If the Attorney General fails to appoint 

10 counsel for an alien in violation of section 

11 292(c)— 

12 ‘‘(I) no limitation under this 

13 paragraph pertaining to the filing of 

14 any motion under this paragraph by 

15 such alien shall apply; and 

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

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

18 SEC. 6. SUPPLEMENTARY SURCHARGE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 9 of the Immigration and 

20 Nationality Act is amended by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 295. SUPPLEMENTARY SURCHARGE. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the gen24 eral fund of the Treasury a separate account which shall 

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1 standing any other section of this title, there shall be de2 posited as offsetting receipts into the Immigration Counsel 

3 Account all fees collected under subsection (c) of this sec4 tion, to remain available until expended for purposes of 

5 providing access to counsel when required or authorized 

6 under this Act and facilitating access to counsel under the 

7 Funding Attorneys for Indigent Removal (FAIR) Pro8 ceedings Act. 

9 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—At the end of each 2-year period, be10 ginning with the creation of this account, the Secretary 

11 of Homeland Security, following a public rulemaking with 

12 opportunity for notice and comment, shall submit a report 

13 to the Congress concerning the status of the account, in14 cluding any balances therein, and recommend any adjust15 ment in the prescribed fee that may be required to ensure 

16 that the receipts collected from the fee charged for the 

17 succeeding two years equal, as closely as possible, the cost 

18 of providing access to counsel when required or authorized 

19 under this Act and facilitating access counsel under the 

20 Funding Attorneys for Indigent Removal (FAIR) Pro21 ceedings Act. 

22 ‘‘(c) RECEIPTS.—In any case in which a fee is 

23 charged pursuant to this Act or any of the other immigra24 tion laws, an additional surcharge of $10 shall also be im25 posed and collected.’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 such Act is amended by inserting after the item relating 

3 to section 294 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 295. Supplementary surcharge.’’. 

Æ 


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