I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3775 
To increase legal representation for certain aliens, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 16, 2019 
Mr. BROWN of Maryland (for himself, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. JOHNSON of Geor-
gia, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SOTO, and Mr. 
VARGAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To increase legal representation for certain aliens, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Equal Justice for Im-
migrants Act of 2019’’. 
SEC. 2. VULNERABLE POPULATION DEFINED. 
In this Act, the term ‘‘vulnerable population’’ means, 
with respect to an alien, that the alien— 
(1) is an asylum seeker or victim of torture or 
trafficking; 
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(2) has special religious, cultural, or spiritual 
considerations; 
(3) is pregnant or nursing; 
(4) is younger than 21 years of age or older 
than 60 years of age; 
(5) identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans-
gender, or intersex; 
(6) is a victim or witness of a crime; 
(7) has a mental disorder or physical disability; 
(8) is incapable of filling out forms in English; 
or 
(9) has been determined by an immigration 
judge or the Secretary of Homeland Security to be 
experiencing severe trauma or to be a survivor of 
torture or gender-based violence, based on informa-
tion obtained during intake, from the individual’s at-
torney or legal services provider, or through credible 
self-reporting. 
TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE 
IMMIGRATION AND NATION-
ALITY ACT 
SEC. 101. MIGRANT PROTECTION PROTOCOLS. 
(a) TREATMENT OF ALIENS ARRIVING FROM CON-
TIGUOUS TERRITORY.—Section 235(b)(2)(C) of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b)(2)(C)) is 
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amended by inserting before the period at the end the fol-
lowing: ‘‘with the affirmative consent of the alien’’. 
(b) INTERVIEW APPLICANTS.—In the case of an alien 
who is a member of a vulnerable population and applying 
for admission as a refugee under section 207 of the Immi-
gration and Nationality Act, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security shall ensure that the number of interviews re-
quired of such an alien is not overly burdensome. 
(c) 
ASYLUM
OFFICER
DEFINED.—Section 
235(b)(1)(E) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
U.S.C. 1225(b)(1)(E)) is amended— 
(1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the 
end and inserting the following: ‘‘, and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(iii) is an employee of U.S. Citizen-
ship and Immigration Services.’’. 
TITLE II—IMMIGRATION 
PROCEEDINGS 
SEC. 201. IMMIGRATION JUDGE REQUIREMENTS. 
The Attorney General may not require an immigra-
tion judge to adhere to a case production quota or any 
other time-based metric and may not evaluate the per-
formance of an immigration judge using any such quota 
or time based metric. 
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SEC. 202. REPRESENTATION. 
(a) RIGHT TO COUNSEL.—The Immigration and Na-
tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) in section 238(b)(4)(B), by striking ‘‘(at no 
expense to the government)’’; 
(2) in section 240(b)(4)(A), by striking ‘‘, at no 
expense to the Government,’’; and 
(3) by amending section 292 to read as follows: 
‘‘RIGHT TO COUNSEL 
‘‘SEC. 292. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any proceeding before an im-
migration judge and in any appeal proceeding before the 
Attorney General from any such proceedings, the person 
concerned, including an unaccompanied alien child or an 
alien who is an individual with a disability (as such term 
is defined in Section 7(20) of the Rehabilitation Act of 
1973 (29 U.S.C. 705)), shall have the privilege of being 
represented by such counsel, authorized to practice in such 
proceedings, as the person shall choose. 
‘‘(b) INDIGENT ALIENS.—In the case of an indigent 
alien, an immigration judge shall appoint, at the alien’s 
request, counsel to represent the alien in any proceeding 
described in subsection (a).’’. 
(b) ACCESS
TO COUNSEL
FOR UNACCOMPANIED 
ALIEN CHILDREN.—Section 235(c)(5) of the William Wil-
berforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization 
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Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232(c)(5)) is amended by striking 
‘‘to the greatest extent practicable and consistent with sec-
tion 292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1362)’’. 
(c) COURT DATE.—Section 240(a) of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(a)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(4) DEPORTATION.—An alien that is eligible 
for a removal proceeding under this Act may not be 
removed prior to the date of such proceeding.’’. 
TITLE III—JUDICIAL REVIEW 
SEC. 301. EXTENSION ON PETITION FOR REVIEW. 
Section 242(b) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1252(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘30 days’’ and inserting 
‘‘60 days’’; and 
(B) by inserting before the period at the 
end the following: ‘‘, except that a court may 
extend the deadline for a period of not more 
than 30 days upon a showing of good cause or 
excusable neglect’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (3)(B)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘does not’’ and inserting 
‘‘shall’’; and 
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(B) by striking ‘‘, unless the court orders 
otherwise’’. 
SEC. 302. NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 
Board of Immigration Appeals affirms an order of removal 
issued pursuant to section 240, the Attorney General shall 
provide written notice of the right to appeal to the alien 
(or, if personal service is not practicable, through service 
by mail to the alien or to the alien’s counsel of record, 
if any) specifying the deadline for seeking judicial review 
under section 242 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1252) and the appropriate court of appeals. 
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney General shall 
amend such regulations as may be necessary to implement 
subsection (a). 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall take ef-
fect on the date that is 120 days after the date of enact-
ment of this Act. 
TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS 
SEC. 401. VIDEO CONFERENCE TECHNOLOGY. 
Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General, acting through the Di-
rector of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, 
shall submit to Congress a report on the effect of video 
conference hearings on the outcome of such hearings. 
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SEC. 402. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this Act $726,200,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 
through 2021. 
Æ 
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