I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 656 
To require the Attorney General to make grants to nonprofit organizations 
to offer legal assistance to certain aliens lawfully admitted for permanent 
residence, DACA recipients, and refugees, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 17, 2019 
Mr. CORREA (for himself, Ms. BONAMICI, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. NOR-
TON, Mr. COHEN, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. 
CLARKE of New York, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. BROWNLEY of 
California, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. SIRES, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of 
New York, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Mr. VEASEY, Mr. SABLAN, Mr. 
JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. SPEIER, Mrs. DINGELL, Ms. WASSERMAN 
SCHULTZ, Ms. WILD, Ms. OMAR, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. 
GARAMENDI, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. YARMUTH, Ms. 
WATERS, Mr. BEYER, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. WELCH, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SCHNEI-
DER, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. AGUILAR, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. 
MCGOVERN, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. VELA, Ms. 
OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 
ESPAILLAT, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. SOTO, and Mr. 
GOMEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To require the Attorney General to make grants to nonprofit 
organizations to offer legal assistance to certain aliens 
lawfully admitted for permanent residence, DACA recipi-
ents, and refugees, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘DREAMers, Immi-
grants, and Refugees (DIRe) Legal Aid Act’’. 
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR LEGAL ASSISTANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 
shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, make 
grants to nonprofit legal services providers with immigra-
tion law expertise to provide legal services and advice with 
respect to the immigration laws (and any executive branch 
orders, regulations, rules, memoranda, or other guidance 
under such laws) to aliens who— 
(1) are present in the United States; 
(2) are described in subsection (b); and 
(3) have been ordered removed, are in removal 
proceedings, or are at risk of being denied entry or 
admission into the United States. 
(b) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien is described in 
this subsection if— 
(1) the alien is lawfully admitted to the United 
States for permanent residence; 
(2) the alien received a grant of deferred action 
under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals 
program established pursuant to the memorandum 
of the Secretary of Homeland Security dated June 
15, 2012; or 
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(3) the alien, or the alien’s spouse or parent, 
has been admitted, or has been determined to be 
qualified for admission, as a refugee. 
(c) DISSEMINATION OF CONTACT INFORMATION.— 
The Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide aliens 
described in subsection (a) with the contact information 
for providers receiving funds under this section and shall 
afford aliens in detention an opportunity to speak in per-
son or by telephone to, and arrange representation by, 
such a provider. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 to carry out 
this section. 
SEC. 3. STUDY ON DISPARITIES IN OUTCOMES FOR ALIENS 
IN REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS BASED ON HAV-
ING LEGAL REPRESENTATION. 
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, act-
ing through the Under Secretary for Science and Tech-
nology, shall carry out a study on the relative outcomes 
for individuals in removal proceedings who have legal rep-
resentation as compared to individuals who lack legal rep-
resentation and shall submit to the Congress recommenda-
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tions for correcting any disparities in outcomes found 
through such study. 
Æ 
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