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 Com-
mittee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide for improvements in the treatment of detained 
persons, 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 ‘‘Immigrant Detained 
Persons Legal Rights Act’’. 
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF LEGAL ACCESS PROGRAMS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF LEGAL ACCESS 
PROGRAMS.—The Attorney General shall establish and 
maintain, within the Executive Office for Immigration Re-
view, an Office of Legal Access Programs to develop and 
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administer a system of legal orientation programs to make 
immigration proceedings more efficient and cost-effective 
by educating noncitizens regarding administrative proce-
dures and legal rights under United States immigration 
law and to establish other programs to assist in providing 
noncitizens access to legal information. The Attorney Gen-
eral shall submit a plan to Congress not later than 180 
days after the enactment of this Act including a schedule 
to develop and deploy legal orientation programs for all 
detained persons not later than 1 year after the enactment 
of this Act. The Attorney General shall seek input from 
nongovernmental organizations and stakeholders in devel-
oping this plan. 
(b) LEGAL ORIENTATION PROGRAMS.—The legal ori-
entation programs— 
(1) shall provide programs to assist noncitizens 
in or released from custody in making informed and 
timely decisions regarding their removal and eligi-
bility for relief from removal in order to increase ef-
ficiency and reduce costs in immigration proceedings 
and Federal custody processes and to improve access 
to counsel and other legal services; 
(2) shall ensure that programs and written no-
tice of rights are available in English and the five 
most common native languages spoken by the de-
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tained persons held in custody at that location dur-
ing the preceding fiscal year; 
(3) shall identify unaccompanied noncitizen 
children, noncitizens with a serious mental disability, 
and other particularly vulnerable noncitizens for con-
sideration by the Attorney General pursuant to sec-
tion 292(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 
as added by section 3502(c); and 
(4) may provide services to noncitizens in immi-
gration proceedings under sections 235, 238, 240, 
and 241(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality 
Act (8 U.S.C. 1225, 1228, 1229a, and 1231(a)(5)) 
and to other noncitizens in immigration and asylum 
proceedings under sections 235, 238, and 240 of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225, 
1228, and 1229a). 
(c) PROCEDURES.—The Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall es-
tablish procedures that ensure that legal orientation pro-
grams are available for all noncitizens in or released from 
custody within 5 days of arrival into custody and to inform 
such noncitizens of the basic procedures of immigration 
hearings, their rights relating to those hearings under the 
immigration laws, information that may deter such non-
citizens from filing frivolous legal claims, and any other 
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