Immigrant Detained Persons Legal Rights Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6839 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 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 Review, an Office of Legal Access Programs to develop and 
administer a system of legal orientation programs to make immigration 
proceedings more efficient and cost-effective by educating noncitizens 
regarding administrative procedures and legal rights under United 
States immigration law and to establish other programs to assist in 
providing noncitizens access to legal information. The Attorney General 
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 developing this 
plan.
    (b) Legal Orientation Programs.--The legal orientation programs--
            (1) shall provide programs to assist noncitizens in or 
        released from custody in making informed and timely decisions 
        regarding their removal and eligibility for relief from removal 
        in order to increase efficiency 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 notice of rights 
        are available in English and the five most common native 
        languages spoken by the detained persons held in custody at 
        that location during the preceding fiscal year;
            (3) shall identify unaccompanied noncitizen children, 
        noncitizens with a serious mental disability, and other 
        particularly vulnerable noncitizens for consideration by the 
        Attorney General pursuant to section 292(c) of the Immigration 
        and Nationality Act, as added by section 3502(c); and
            (4) may provide services to noncitizens in immigration 
        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 Security, in 
consultation with the Attorney General, shall establish procedures that 
ensure that legal orientation programs 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 noncitizens from 
filing frivolous legal claims, and any other information deemed 
appropriate by the Attorney General, such as a contact list of 
potential legal resources and providers.
    (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall be 
construed to create any substantive or procedural right or benefit that 
is legally enforceable by any party against the United States or its 
agencies or officers or any other person.
    (e) Funding.--There shall be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this section.
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