Us Congress 2025-2026 Regular Session

Us Congress House Bill HB3127 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	I
2	2	119THCONGRESS
3	3	1
4	4	STSESSION H. R. 3127
5	5	To establish the right to counsel, at Government expense for those who
6	6	cannot afford counsel, for people facing removal.
7	7	IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
8	8	APRIL30, 2025
9	9	Mrs. T
10	10	ORRESof California (for herself, Ms. MENG, and Ms. JAYAPAL) intro-
11	11	duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Ju-
12	12	diciary
13	13	A BILL
14	14	To establish the right to counsel, at Government expense
15	15	for those who cannot afford counsel, for people facing
16	16	removal.
17	17	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
18	18	tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
19	19	SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3
20	20	(a) S
21	21	HORTTITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4
22	22	‘‘Fairness to Freedom Act of 2025’’. 5
23	23	(b) T
24	24	ABLE OFCONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6
25	25	this Act is as follows: 7
26	26	Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
27	27	TITLE I—GUARANTEEING THE RIGHT TO COUNSEL
28	28	Sec. 101. Guaranteeing and expanding the right to counsel.
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31	31	•HR 3127 IH
32	32	Sec. 102. Public charge.
33	33	TITLE II—OFFICE OF IMMIGRATION REPRESENTATION
34	34	Sec. 201. Definitions.
35	35	Sec. 202. Establishment; purpose; independence.
36	36	Sec. 203. Board of Directors.
37	37	Sec. 204. Director.
38	38	Sec. 205. Employees.
39	39	Sec. 206. Local immigration representation boards.
40	40	Sec. 207. Types of immigration defenders.
41	41	Sec. 208. Compensation and reimbursement of expenses of counsel.
42	42	Sec. 209. Services other than counsel.
43	43	Sec. 210. Immigration Representation Advisory Board.
44	44	TITLE III—AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
45	45	Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations.
46	46	Sec. 302. Minimum funding for the Office of Immigration Representation.
47	47	TITLE I—GUARANTEEING THE 1
48	48	RIGHT TO COUNSEL 2
49	49	SEC. 101. GUARANTEEING AND EXPANDING THE RIGHT TO 3
50	50	COUNSEL. 4
51	51	Section 292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 5
52	52	(8 U.S.C. 1362) is amended to read as follows: 6
53	53	‘‘SEC. 292. RIGHT TO COUNSEL. 7
54	54	‘‘(a) I
55	55	NGENERAL.—Any individual in any removal, 8
56	56	exclusion, deportation, bond, or expedited removal pro-9
57	57	ceeding under section 212(d)(5)(A), 235(b)(1)(B), 236, 10
58	58	238, 240, or 241 or in any matter related to any such 11
59	59	proceeding before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Serv-12
60	60	ices, any State court, or any court created under article 13
61	61	III of the Constitution of the United States, any individual 14
62	62	who is financially unable to obtain representation subject 15
63	63	to such proceeding shall be entitled to legal representation 16
64	64	at Government expense in accordance with this section. 17
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68	68	‘‘(b) MATTERSINCLUDED.—Proceedings and mat-1
69	69	ters referred to in subsection (a) shall include— 2
70	70	‘‘(1) petitions for a writ of habeas corpus under 3
71	71	section 2241 of title 28, United States Code, or any 4
72	72	other similar proceeding; 5
73	73	‘‘(2) administrative and judicial proceedings for 6
74	74	individuals who may be eligible for special immigrant 7
75	75	juvenile status under section 1101(a)(27)(J)(ii) of 8
76	76	title 8, United States Code; 9
77	77	‘‘(3) applications before the U.S. Citizenship 10
78	78	and Immigration Services related to relief from re-11
79	79	moval, and post-conviction relief in criminal pro-12
80	80	ceedings; 13
81	81	‘‘(4) post-conviction relief in criminal pro-14
82	82	ceedings; and 15
83	83	‘‘(5) any other legal proceeding involving an in-16
84	84	dividual described in subsection (a) that is related to 17
85	85	such individual’s legal status in the United States. 18
86	86	‘‘(c) S
87	87	COPE OFCOUNSEL.— 19
88	88	‘‘(1) A
89	89	DVOCACY.—Consistent with Rule 1.3 of 20
90	90	the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Pro-21
91	91	fessional conduct, attorneys and other persons pro-22
92	92	viding representation to individuals in proceedings or 23
93	93	matters described in subsection (a) shall— 24
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97	97	‘‘(A) act with reasonable diligence, prompt-1
98	98	ness, commitment, and dedication to the inter-2
99	99	ests of the client and with zeal in advocating on 3
100	100	the client’s behalf; and 4
101	101	‘‘(B) hold the Government to its burden by 5
102	102	presenting the fullest defense possible in each 6
103	103	such proceeding or matter. 7
104	104	‘‘(2) S
105	105	COPE OF REPRESENTATION .—Represen-8
106	106	tation under this section shall include— 9
107	107	‘‘(A) counsel and interpretation and trans-10
108	108	lation services; and 11
109	109	‘‘(B) any other services that are necessary 12
110	110	for effective representation, including the serv-13
111	111	ices described in section 309 of the Fairness to 14
112	112	Freedom Act of 2025. 15
113	113	‘‘(3) C
114	114	OMMENCEMENT OF REPRESENTATION .— 16
115	115	‘‘(A) I
116	116	N GENERAL.—The right to counsel 17
117	117	of a person detained in, or released from, the 18
118	118	custody of the Department of Homeland Secu-19
119	119	rity or the Department of Health and Human 20
120	120	Services shall attach at the earlier of— 21
121	121	‘‘(i) the placement of the person in 22
122	122	the custody of either department, regard-23
123	123	less of whether the person has been for-24
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126	126	•HR 3127 IH
127	127	mally placed in a proceeding described in 1
128	128	subsection (a); or 2
129	129	‘‘(ii) the issuance to the person of a 3
130	130	Notice to Appear or other document initi-4
131	131	ating proceedings under section 235, 238, 5
132	132	240, or 241. 6
133	133	‘‘(B) C
134	134	LARIFICATION.—The appointment 7
135	135	of counsel based on the issuance of a Notice to 8
136	136	Appear shall occur regardless of whether the 9
137	137	Notice to Appear has been filed with the immi-10
138	138	gration court. The appointment of counsel for a 11
139	139	detained person shall occur as soon as possible, 12
140	140	but in no event later than 24 hours after such 13
141	141	person is taken into the custody of the Depart-14
142	142	ment of Homeland Security. 15
143	143	‘‘(4) C
144	144	ONTINUOUS REPRESENTATION .— 16
145	145	‘‘(A) I
146	146	N GENERAL.—An individual for 17
147	147	whom counsel is appointed under this section 18
148	148	shall be represented continuously at every stage 19
149	149	of proceedings beginning with the initial ap-20
150	150	pearance before any official with adjudicatory 21
151	151	authority and including any proceedings before 22
152	152	the Immigration Courts, the Board of Immigra-23
153	153	tion Appeals, Federal district courts, Federal 24
154	154	courts of appeal, and the United States Su-25
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157	157	•HR 3127 IH
158	158	preme Court, including ancillary matters related 1
159	159	to the proceedings described in subsection (a), 2
160	160	and ending when all such proceedings have con-3
161	161	cluded. 4
162	162	‘‘(B) A
163	163	PPOINTMENT OF DIFFERENT COUN -5
164	164	SEL.—If the nature of the representation need-6
165	165	ed by a person in proceedings under this section 7
166	166	requires the appointment of different represent-8
167	167	atives for different stages of such proceedings, 9
168	168	all such representatives shall comply with the 10
169	169	minimum standards of representation described 11
170	170	in paragraph (1). 12
171	171	‘‘(C) A
172	172	PPOINTMENT OF NEW COUNSEL 13
173	173	AFTER RELOCATION .—The Office of Immigra-14
174	174	tion Representation established under section 15
175	175	202 of the Fairness to Freedom Act of 2025 16
176	176	shall ensure that each individual who is released 17
177	177	from custody and moves to a State or munici-18
178	178	pality other than the State or municipality in 19
179	179	which he or she was in custody, or who is trans-20
180	180	ferred to a detention facility in another State or 21
181	181	municipality is provided with counsel in the new 22
182	182	State or municipality in which the individual re-23
183	183	sides or is detained. 24
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187	187	‘‘(5) CONSTRUCTION.—This subsection shall be 1
188	188	broadly construed to attach in any proceeding and 2
189	189	related matter, including any petition for review or 3
190	190	appellate process, request for re-interview, request 4
191	191	for reconsideration, and motion to reopen, arising 5
192	192	from a proceeding or matter described in subsection 6
193	193	(a). 7
194	194	‘‘(d) E
195	195	LIGIBILITY ANDCOMMENCEMENT OF IMMI-8
196	196	GRATIONPROCEEDINGS.— 9
197	197	‘‘(1) N
198	198	OTIFICATION.—A proceeding described in 10
199	199	subsection (a) shall not commence until counsel has 11
200	200	been appointed to represent the individual subject to 12
201	201	such proceeding. If such a proceeding has already 13
202	202	commenced without the appointment of counsel, 14
203	203	such proceeding shall be paused until such counsel 15
204	204	is appointed. Before commencing a proceeding de-16
205	205	scribed in subsection (a), the adjudicatory official, 17
206	206	who may be an official of U.S. Immigration and 18
207	207	Customs Enforcement or of U.S. Customs and Bor-19
208	208	der Protection, under a plan approved by the Office 20
209	209	of Immigration Representation, shall notify the indi-21
210	210	vidual subject to such proceeding that— 22
211	211	‘‘(A) such individual has the right to be 23
212	212	represented by counsel; and 24
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216	216	‘‘(B) counsel will be appointed to represent 1
217	217	such individual before the commencement of 2
218	218	such proceeding if the individual— 3
219	219	‘‘(i) has not retained private counsel; 4
220	220	and 5
221	221	‘‘(ii) is financially unable to obtain 6
222	222	counsel. 7
223	223	‘‘(2) D
224	224	ETERMINATION OF FINANCIAL ABILITY 8
225	225	TO OBTAIN COUNSEL.— 9
226	226	‘‘(A) I
227	227	N GENERAL.—An individual shall be 10
228	228	deemed to be financially unable to obtain coun-11
229	229	sel under paragraph (1)(B)(ii) if the individ-12
230	230	ual’s net financial resources and income are in-13
231	231	sufficient to obtain qualified counsel. 14
232	232	‘‘(B) E
233	233	LIGIBILITY FOR COUNSEL .—An in-15
234	234	dividual who makes a sworn statement to the 16
235	235	adjudicatory official referred to in subsection 17
236	236	(a) that he or she is a member of a family 18
237	237	whose income is not more than 200 percent of 19
238	238	the poverty line (as defined in section 673(2) of 20
239	239	the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 21
240	240	U.S.C. 9902(2))) is eligible for Government-ap-22
241	241	pointed counsel under this section. 23
242	242	‘‘(3) A
243	243	CCESS TO PERTINENT DOCUMENTS AND 24
244	244	INFORMATION.— 25
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248	248	‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An individual de-1
249	249	scribed in subsection (a) and his or her counsel 2
250	250	shall automatically receive a complete copy of 3
251	251	all documents and information pertaining to 4
252	252	such individual that are in the possession of the 5
253	253	Department of Homeland Security or the De-6
254	254	partment of Health and Human Services, in-7
255	255	cluding documents obtained from other Govern-8
256	256	ment agencies, unless the disclosure of any such 9
257	257	document or information is barred by privilege 10
258	258	or otherwise prohibited by law. 11
259	259	‘‘(B) R
260	260	ECORDS.—Not later than 7 days 12
261	261	after counsel is appointed to represent an indi-13
262	262	vidual under this Act, the Director of U.S. Citi-14
263	263	zenship and Immigration Services shall— 15
264	264	‘‘(i) provide such individual and coun-16
265	265	sel with a complete copy of the individual’s 17
266	266	immigration file (commonly known as the 18
267	267	‘A-file’); and 19
268	268	‘‘(ii) facilitate the provision to such 20
269	269	individual and counsel of a copy of any 21
270	270	Record of Proceeding that is in the posses-22
271	271	sion of the Department of Homeland Secu-23
272	272	rity, the Department of Health and 24
273	273	Human Services, or the Department of 25
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276	276	•HR 3127 IH
277	277	Justice (other than documents protected 1
278	278	from disclosure under section 552(b) of 2
279	279	title 5, United States Code). 3
280	280	‘‘(4) R
281	281	ESTRICTION.—A proceeding described in 4
282	282	subsection (a) may not commence before the date 5
283	283	that is 10 days after the date on which the indi-6
284	284	vidual, or the individual’s counsel, has received all of 7
285	285	the documents described in paragraph (3), in order 8
286	286	to review and assess such documents, unless the in-9
287	287	dividual or his or her counsel knowingly and volun-10
288	288	tarily waives such restriction. 11
289	289	‘‘(e) A
290	290	PPOINTMENT OFCOUNSEL.— 12
291	291	‘‘(1) N
292	292	OTIFICATION REQUIREMENT .—If an indi-13
293	293	vidual who is entitled to representation under this 14
294	294	section is not represented by counsel, the adjudica-15
295	295	tory official shall— 16
296	296	‘‘(A) notify the Local Administrator ap-17
297	297	pointed pursuant to section 206(k)(3) of the 18
298	298	Fairness to Freedom Act of 2025 (or the des-19
299	299	ignee of the Local Administrator) that such in-20
300	300	dividual is not represented by counsel; and 21
301	301	‘‘(B) advise such individual— 22
302	302	‘‘(i) of his or her right to be rep-23
303	303	resented by counsel; and 24
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307	307	‘‘(ii) that such counsel will be ap-1
308	308	pointed if such person is financially unable 2
309	309	to obtain counsel. 3
310	310	‘‘(2) W
311	311	AIVER.—An individual’s right to be rep-4
312	312	resented by appointed counsel may only be waived by 5
313	313	the individual— 6
314	314	‘‘(A) in the physical presence of appointed 7
315	315	counsel; 8
316	316	‘‘(B) if such waiver is knowing and vol-9
317	317	untary; and 10
318	318	‘‘(C) if the individual demonstrates that he 11
319	319	or she— 12
320	320	‘‘(i) understands the nature of any 13
321	321	charges and the possible defenses and out-14
322	322	comes; and 15
323	323	‘‘(ii) possesses the knowledge and in-16
324	324	telligence necessary to conduct his or her 17
325	325	own defense. 18
326	326	‘‘(3) A
327	327	PPEAL OF WAIVER ; RETROACTIVE AP-19
328	328	POINTMENT.—Counsel may appeal any putative 20
329	329	waiver to the Office of Immigration Representation 21
330	330	established under section 202 of the Fairness to 22
331	331	Freedom Act of 2025 if counsel reasonably believes 23
332	332	that such waiver did not meet the requirements 24
333	333	under paragraph (2). If the Office of Immigration 25
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337	337	Representation concurs with counsel’s assessment, 1
338	338	the Office may retroactively appoint counsel in order 2
339	339	to include any representation furnished pursuant to 3
340	340	the plan before such appointment. 4
341	341	‘‘(4) A
342	342	PPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL .—Unless an 5
343	343	individual waives representation by counsel pursuant 6
344	344	to paragraph (2), the Local Administrator, upon no-7
345	345	tification that an individual may meet the criteria 8
346	346	for appointed counsel, shall appoint counsel for such 9
347	347	individual in accordance with the Local Plan devel-10
348	348	oped pursuant to section 206(k)(1) of the Fairness 11
349	349	to Freedom Act of 2025 if the Local Administrator 12
350	350	determines, after appropriate inquiry, that such indi-13
351	351	vidual is financially unable to obtain counsel. An ap-14
352	352	pointment under this paragraph may be made retro-15
353	353	active to include any representation furnished to 16
354	354	such individual by such counsel before such appoint-17
355	355	ment. 18
356	356	‘‘(5) A
357	357	PPOINTMENT OF SEPARATE COUNSEL .— 19
358	358	The Local Administrator shall appoint separate 20
359	359	counsel for individuals who are subjected to the 21
360	360	same proceeding or related proceedings if— 22
361	361	‘‘(A) the interests of such individuals can-23
362	362	not, consistent with ethical responsibilities and 24
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365	365	•HR 3127 IH
366	366	manageable workloads, be properly be rep-1
367	367	resented by a single counsel; or 2
368	368	‘‘(B) the Local Administrator dem-3
369	369	onstrates another good cause for appointing 4
370	370	separate counsel. 5
371	371	‘‘(6) C
372	372	ONSOLIDATED CASES.— 6
373	373	‘‘(A) I
374	374	N GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph 7
375	375	(5) and except as provided in subparagraph 8
376	376	(B), if the Attorney General consolidates the 9
377	377	case of an individual for whom counsel was ap-10
378	378	pointed pursuant to subsection (a) with the case 11
379	379	of another individual without counsel, the coun-12
380	380	sel appointed pursuant to subsection (a) shall 13
381	381	be appointed to represent such other individual 14
382	382	unless a conflict of interest would prevent joint 15
383	383	representation. 16
384	384	‘‘(B) C
385	385	ONFLICT OF INTEREST .—If a con-17
386	386	flict of interest prevents joint representation 18
387	387	under subparagraph (A), the Local Adminis-19
388	388	trator shall appoint separate counsel for the in-20
389	389	dividuals referred to in such subparagraph un-21
390	390	less the Local Administrator demonstrates that 22
391	391	there is a good cause for not appointing sepa-23
392	392	rate counsel. 24
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396	396	‘‘(7) CHANGE OF FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES 1
397	397	DURING PROCEEDINGS .—If an individual who has 2
398	398	retained counsel becomes financially unable to pay 3
399	399	such counsel and is eligible for appointed counsel 4
400	400	under this section, the Local Administrator may ap-5
401	401	point counsel for such individual in accordance with 6
402	402	this section. 7
403	403	‘‘(8) S
404	404	UBSTITUTION OF COUNSEL .—The Local 8
405	405	Administrator, in the interests of justice, upon a 9
406	406	showing of good cause, and consistent with ethical 10
407	407	requirements applicable to attorneys practicing in 11
408	408	the region, substitute an appointed counsel for an-12
409	409	other appointed counsel at any stage of a proceeding 13
410	410	referred to in subsection (a). 14
411	411	‘‘(f) A
412	412	CCESS TOCOUNSEL.— 15
413	413	‘‘(1) I
414	414	N GENERAL.—If an individual is subject 16
415	415	to proceedings described in subsection (a) or to de-17
416	416	tention or inspection at a port of entry, U.S. Cus-18
417	417	toms and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and 19
418	418	Customs Enforcement, or the Office of Refugee Re-20
419	419	settlement, as appropriate, shall— 21
420	420	‘‘(A) facilitate access for such individual to 22
421	421	counsel; and 23
422	422	‘‘(B) ensure that counsel appointed under 24
423	423	this section is permitted to meet in person with 25
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426	426	•HR 3127 IH
427	427	such individual in a confidential, private setting 1
428	428	when requested during the first 12 hours the 2
429	429	individual is detained and as soon as practicable 3
430	430	after subsequent meeting requests. 4
431	431	‘‘(2) A
432	432	LTERNATIVE MEETING OPTIONS .—If 5
433	433	counsel appointed pursuant to this section cannot 6
434	434	personally meet with an individual described in para-7
435	435	graph (1) to whom such counsel was appointed to 8
436	436	represent, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 9
437	437	U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the 10
438	438	Office of Refugee Resettlement, as appropriate, at 11
439	439	the request of such individual or the counsel of the 12
440	440	individual, shall provide alternative options through 13
441	441	which counsel may communicate with such indi-14
442	442	vidual remotely in a confidential, private manner 15
443	443	during the first 12 hours such individual is detained 16
444	444	and as soon as practicable after subsequent meeting 17
445	445	requests. 18
446	446	‘‘(3) E
447	447	FFECT OF FAILURE TO PROVIDE TIMELY 19
448	448	ACCESS TO COUNSEL.—If U.S. Customs and Border 20
449	449	Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce-21
450	450	ment, or the Office of Refugee Resettlement, as ap-22
451	451	plicable, fails to timely provide an individual with ac-23
452	452	cess to counsel in accordance with paragraph (1) or 24
453	453	(2), no statement made by the individual before such 25
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456	456	•HR 3127 IH
457	457	access has been made available may be introduced 1
458	458	into evidence against the respondent except on a mo-2
459	459	tion by the appointed counsel, who shall be entitled 3
460	460	to a continuance in the proceedings giving rise to the 4
461	461	appointment of such counsel. 5
462	462	‘‘(4) L
463	463	IMITATION.—An individual held or de-6
464	464	tained at a port of entry may not submit a valid 7
465	465	Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resi-8
466	466	dent Status or Withdrawal of Application for Admis-9
467	467	sion if U.S. Customs and Border Protection or U.S. 10
468	468	Immigration and Customs Enforcement has failed to 11
469	469	provide such individual with access to counsel in ac-12
470	470	cordance with this section. 13
471	471	‘‘(5) I
472	472	NSTITUTIONAL HEARING PROGRAM .—In-14
473	473	dividuals held in Federal, State, or local criminal 15
474	474	custody who are placed in any proceeding described 16
475	475	in subsection (a) shall be ensured access to counsel 17
476	476	consistent with the requirements of this section. No 18
477	477	statement made by the respondent before such ac-19
478	478	cess has been made available may be introduced into 20
479	479	evidence against the respondent except on appointed 21
480	480	counsel’s own motion. Counsel shall be entitled to a 22
481	481	continuance in the proceedings giving rise to his or 23
482	482	her appointment. 24
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485	485	•HR 3127 IH
486	486	‘‘(6) TERMINATION OF PROCEEDINGS .—If the 1
487	487	Local Administrator fails to provide counsel to an 2
488	488	individual in accordance with this section, the Sec-3
489	489	retary of Homeland Security or the Attorney Gen-4
490	490	eral, as appropriate, shall terminate any proceedings 5
491	491	involving such individual with prejudice.’’. 6
492	492	SEC. 102. PUBLIC CHARGE. 7
493	493	Seeking or receiving appointed counsel under section 8
494	494	292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended 9
495	495	by section 101, may not be serve as the basis for any de-10
496	496	termination that the individual seeking or receiving such 11
497	497	services is likely to become a public charge for the pur-12
498	498	poses of determining the admissibility, removability, ex-13
499	499	cludability, or deportability of such individual under such 14
500	500	Act, or in any other proceeding in which such individual’s 15
501	501	likelihood of becoming a public charge is at issue for immi-16
502	502	gration purposes. 17
503	503	TITLE II—OFFICE OF IMMIGRA-18
504	504	TION REPRESENTATION 19
505	505	SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 20
506	506	In this title: 21
507	507	(1) B
508	508	OARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the 22
509	509	Board of Directors of the Office. 23
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512	512	•HR 3127 IH
513	513	(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 1
514	514	the Director of the Office of Immigration Represen-2
515	515	tation appointed pursuant to section 206(k)(1). 3
516	516	(3) I
517	517	MMIGRATION PUBLIC DEFENDER ORGANI -4
518	518	ZATION.—The term ‘‘Immigration Public Defender 5
519	519	Organization’’ means an organization established by 6
520	520	a Local Board pursuant to section 207(a)(1). 7
521	521	(4) L
522	522	OCAL BOARD.—The term ‘‘Local Board’’ 8
523	523	means a local immigration representation board es-9
524	524	tablished within a region pursuant to section 206(a). 10
525	525	(5) O
526	526	FFICE.—The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Of-11
527	527	fice of Immigration Representation established 12
528	528	under section 202(a). 13
529	529	SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE; INDEPENDENCE. 14
530	530	(a) E
531	531	STABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 15
532	532	District of Columbia a private nonprofit corporation, 16
533	533	which shall be known as the Office of Immigration Rep-17
534	534	resentation. 18
535	535	(b) P
536	536	URPOSE.—The purpose of the Office shall be to 19
537	537	ensure high-quality legal representation and related serv-20
538	538	ices to all individuals described in section 292(a) of the 21
539	539	Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by section 22
540	540	101, who cannot afford representation. 23
541	541	(c) I
542	542	NDEPENDENCE.—Except as otherwise provided 24
543	543	in this Act, the Office shall exercise its authority inde-25
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546	546	•HR 3127 IH
547	547	pendently of any Government official, agency, or depart-1
548	548	ment, including the Department of Justice, the Depart-2
549	549	ment of Homeland Security, and the Department of 3
550	550	Health and Human Services. 4
551	551	SEC. 203. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 5
552	552	(a) N
553	553	UMBER ANDAPPOINTMENT.— 6
554	554	(1) I
555	555	N GENERAL.—The Office shall be governed 7
556	556	by a Board of Directors, consisting of 24 members 8
557	557	who shall be appointed not later than 1 year after 9
558	558	the date of the enactment of this Act, in accordance 10
559	559	with paragraph (2). 11
560	560	(2) I
561	561	NITIAL JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS .— 12
562	562	(A) I
563	563	N GENERAL.—Subject to subpara-13
564	564	graphs (B) and (C), the chief judge of each 14
565	565	United States Court of Appeals (except for the 15
566	566	chief judge for the Federal Circuit) shall ap-16
567	567	point 2 individuals to the Board who meet the 17
568	568	requirements set forth in subsection (b). 18
569	569	(B) S
570	570	TAGGERED TERMS OF SERVICE .—The 19
571	571	terms of service of the members of the Board 20
572	572	appointed pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall 21
573	573	be staggered so that— 22
574	574	(i) 6 members serve an initial term of 23
575	575	1 year; 24
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578	578	•HR 3127 IH
579	579	(ii) 6 members serve an initial term of 1
580	580	2 years; 2
581	581	(iii) 6 members serve an initial term 3
582	582	of 3 years; and 4
583	583	(iv) 6 members serve an initial term 5
584	584	of 4 years. 6
585	585	(C) C
586	586	IRCUITS.— 7
587	587	(i) E
588	588	ASTERN CIRCUITS.—The chief 8
589	589	judge of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 11th, and 9
590	590	DC Circuit Courts of Appeals shall appoint 10
591	591	1 individual to serve an initial term of 1 11
592	592	year and 1 individual to serve an initial 12
593	593	term of 4 years. 13
594	594	(ii) R
595	595	EMAINING CIRCUITS.—The chief 14
596	596	judge of the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 15
597	597	10th Circuit Courts of Appeals shall ap-16
598	598	point 1 individual to serve an initial term 17
599	599	of 2 years and 1 individual to serve an ini-18
600	600	tial term of 3 years. 19
601	601	(3) I
602	602	MMIGRATION REPRESENTATION ADVISORY 20
603	603	BOARD APPOINTMENTS .— 21
604	604	(A) I
605	605	NITIAL APPOINTMENTS .—Upon the 22
606	606	expiration of the initial term of the 6 members 23
607	607	of the Board who were appointed to 1-year 24
608	608	terms pursuant to paragraph (2)(B)(i), the Im-25
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611	611	•HR 3127 IH
612	612	migration Representation Advisory Board es-1
613	613	tablished under section 210 shall appoint to 4- 2
614	614	year terms— 3
615	615	(i) 6 members of the Board; 4
616	616	(ii) an Immigration Public Defender, 5
617	617	who shall serve as a nonvoting, ex-officio 6
618	618	member of the Board; and 7
619	619	(iii) a Panel Attorney, who shall serve 8
620	620	as a nonvoting, ex-officio member of the 9
621	621	Board. 10
622	622	(B) S
623	623	UBSEQUENT APPOINTMENTS .—Upon 11
624	624	the expiration of the initial term of the 6 mem-12
625	625	bers of the Board who were appointed to 2-year 13
626	626	terms pursuant to paragraph (2)(B)(ii), the Im-14
627	627	migration Representation Advisory Board es-15
628	628	tablished under section 210 shall appoint 6 16
629	629	members of the Board to 4-year terms. The Im-17
630	630	migration Representation Advisory Board shall 18
631	631	also appoint individuals to replace any member 19
632	632	of the Board who had been appointed by the 20
633	633	Advisory Board, upon the expiration of such 21
634	634	member’s term. 22
635	635	(4) S
636	636	UBSEQUENT JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS .— 23
637	637	(A) I
638	638	N GENERAL.—Upon the expiration of 24
639	639	the term of any member of the Board appointed 25
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642	642	•HR 3127 IH
643	643	by a chief judge to a 3-year or 4-year term, 1
644	644	such chief judge shall appoint an individual to 2
645	645	the Board from a list of 5 qualified individuals 3
646	646	nominated, by majority vote, by a committee 4
647	647	consisting of— 5
648	648	(i) the head of each Immigration Pub-6
649	649	lic Defender Organization that is 7
650	650	headquartered within the corresponding 8
651	651	circuit; 9
652	652	(ii) the head of each Community De-10
653	653	fender Office that is headquartered within 11
654	654	the corresponding circuit; and 12
655	655	(iii) panel attorney representatives 13
656	656	within the corresponding circuit. 14
657	657	(B) F
658	658	AILURE TO PRODUCE LIST .—If a 15
659	659	committee described in subparagraph (A) from 16
660	660	a circuit does not provide a list of 5 Board 17
661	661	nominees to the chief judge of the cor-18
662	662	responding circuit before the date that is 30 19
663	663	days after the expiration of the term of service 20
664	664	of a member of the Board representing such 21
665	665	circuit, the chief judge of such circuit may ap-22
666	666	point an individual to replace such member of 23
667	667	the Board without regard to nominations. 24
668	668	(b) R
669	669	ESTRICTIONS ONMEMBERSHIP.— 25
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672	672	•HR 3127 IH
673	673	(1) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each individual ap-1
674	674	pointed to the Board pursuant to subsection (a)— 2
675	675	(A) shall be nonpartisan; 3
676	676	(B) shall have significant experience rep-4
677	677	resenting persons in proceedings described in 5
678	678	section 292(a) of the Immigration and Nation-6
679	679	ality Act, as amended by section 101 of this 7
680	680	Act; and 8
681	681	(C) shall have demonstrated a strong com-9
682	682	mitment to representation in indigent defense 10
683	683	matters. 11
684	684	(2) D
685	685	IVERSITY.—In making appointments to 12
686	686	the Board under subsection (a), chief judges and the 13
687	687	Immigration Representation Advisory Board shall 14
688	688	seek to appoint individuals, in the aggregate, who re-15
689	689	flect the characteristics of the population rep-16
690	690	resented by counsel appointed pursuant section 292 17
691	691	of the Immigration and Nationality Act, including 18
692	692	the characteristics of race, gender identity, sexual 19
693	693	orientation, immigration experience, and socio-20
694	694	economic background. 21
695	695	(3) D
696	696	ISQUALIFYING CHARACTERISTICS .—A 22
697	697	member of the Board, while serving in such capac-23
698	698	ity, may not be— 24
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701	701	•HR 3127 IH
702	702	(A) an employee of the Office or a member 1
703	703	of a Local Board, an Immigration Public De-2
704	704	fender Organization or Community Defender 3
705	705	Office, or a Panel Attorney, unless he or she is 4
706	706	serving as an ex-officio member of the Board; 5
707	707	(B) a judge or employee of any Federal or 6
708	708	State court, any immigration court, or the 7
709	709	Board of Immigration Appeals; or 8
710	710	(C) a prosecutor or law enforcement officer 9
711	711	or employee thereof, or any person who has 10
712	712	held such a position during the 3-year period 11
713	713	immediately preceding his or her appointment 12
714	714	to the Board. 13
715	715	(c) T
716	716	ERM OFMEMBERSHIP.— 14
717	717	(1) M
718	718	AXIMUM LENGTH OF SERVICE .—No mem-15
719	719	ber of the Board may serve more than 2 terms, ex-16
720	720	cept that a person who was appointed to serve a 1- 17
721	721	year term may be appointed to 2 additional 4-year 18
722	722	terms. 19
723	723	(2) R
724	724	EPLACEMENT MEMBERS .—A person who 20
725	725	is appointed to replace a member who resigned or 21
726	726	was removed— 22
727	727	(A) shall serve the remainder of the term 23
728	728	of such member; and 24
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731	731	•HR 3127 IH
732	732	(B) may be appointed to serve up to 2 ad-1
733	733	ditional 4-year terms. 2
734	734	(d) V
735	735	ACANCIES.— 3
736	736	(1) M
737	737	EMBERS SELECTED BY A CHIEF JUDGE .— 4
738	738	Not later than 90 days after the creation of a va-5
739	739	cancy arising from a Board member position selected 6
740	740	by a chief judge, the committee described in sub-7
741	741	section (a)(2)(A) from the corresponding circuit 8
742	742	shall submit a list of 5 qualified nominees to such 9
743	743	chief judge, who shall appoint 1 of such nominees as 10
744	744	the new member of the Board. 11
745	745	(2) F
746	746	AILURE TO PRODUCE LIST .—If the com-12
747	747	mittee fails to submit the list required under para-13
748	748	graph (1) before the deadline, the chief judge may 14
749	749	make a selection without regard to nominations. 15
750	750	(3) M
751	751	EMBERS SELECTED BY THE IMMIGRATION 16
752	752	REPRESENTATION ADVISORY BOARD .—Not later 17
753	753	than 90 days after the creation of a vacancy arising 18
754	754	from a Board member position selected by the Immi-19
755	755	gration Representation Advisory Board, the Immi-20
756	756	gration Representation Advisory Board shall appoint 21
757	757	a new member of the Board to fill such vacancy. 22
758	758	(e) R
759	759	ATES OFPAY; TRAVELEXPENSES.— 23
760	760	(1) R
761	761	ATES OF PAY.—Members shall be paid for 24
762	762	their services on the Board at a rate not to exceed 25
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765	765	•HR 3127 IH
766	766	the daily rate at which judges of the United States 1
767	767	courts of appeals are compensated. No member may 2
768	768	be paid for more than 90 days in any calendar year. 3
769	769	(2) T
770	770	RAVEL EXPENSES .—Each member shall 4
771	771	receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of 5
772	772	subsistence, in accordance with applicable provisions 6
773	773	under subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United 7
774	774	States Code. 8
775	775	(f) C
776	776	HAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Board 9
777	777	shall be elected by the members and shall serve for a 2- 10
778	778	year term, which may be renewed once by the Board for 11
779	779	an additional 2-year term. 12
780	780	(g) R
781	781	EMOVAL OFMEMBERS.—The members of the 13
782	782	Board, by a vote of 13 members, may remove a member 14
783	783	from the Board for— 15
784	784	(1) malfeasance in office; 16
785	785	(2) persistent neglect of, or inability to dis-17
786	786	charge, Board duties; or 18
787	787	(3) conduct unbecoming of a member of the 19
788	788	Board. 20
789	789	(h) Q
790	790	UORUM.—A quorum for purposes of conducting 21
791	791	Board business shall be a majority of the members of the 22
792	792	Board presently serving. 23
793	793	(i) V
794	794	OTING.—All members of the Board are entitled 24
795	795	to vote on any matters coming before the Board unless 25
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798	798	•HR 3127 IH
799	799	otherwise provided by rules adopted by the Board con-1
800	800	cerning voting on matters in which a member has, or ap-2
801	801	pears to have, a financial or other personal interest. 3
802	802	(j) B
803	803	YLAWS.—The Board shall adopt bylaws gov-4
804	804	erning the operation of the Board, which may include pro-5
805	805	visions authorizing other officers of the Board and gov-6
806	806	erning proxy voting, telephonic and video meetings, and 7
807	807	the appointment of committees. 8
808	808	(k) D
809	809	UTIES OF THEBOARD.—The Board shall— 9
810	810	(1) appoint a Director of the Office not later 10
811	811	than 2 months after the establishment of the 11
812	812	Board— 12
813	813	(A) who shall be selected on the basis of 13
814	814	training, experience, and other relevant quali-14
815	815	fications; and 15
816	816	(B) who shall serve at the pleasure of the 16
817	817	Board; 17
818	818	(2) convene a meeting not later than 4 months 18
819	819	after the establishment of the Board, and not less 19
820	820	frequently than quarterly thereafter; 20
821	821	(3) submit appropriations requests to Congress 21
822	822	for the provision of legal services to individuals rep-22
823	823	resented by counsel in proceedings described in sec-23
824	824	tion 292(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 24
825	825	as amended by section 101(a); 25
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828	828	•HR 3127 IH
829	829	(4) submit an annual report to Congress and 1
830	830	the President that— 2
831	831	(A) describes the operation of the Office 3
832	832	and the delivery of services required under sec-4
833	833	tion 292 of the Immigration and Nationality 5
834	834	Act; and 6
835	835	(B) includes— 7
836	836	(i) the number of people who were 8
837	837	provided legal services during the reporting 9
838	838	period pursuant to such section 292 and 10
839	839	the types of proceedings in which such peo-11
840	840	ple were represented; 12
841	841	(ii) the custodial status of the people 13
842	842	who were represented; 14
843	843	(iii) aggregate case outcomes for the 15
844	844	people who were represented; and 16
845	845	(iv) the status of appointments and 17
846	846	vacancies on the Board and Local Boards; 18
847	847	(5) complete and submit to Congress and to the 19
848	848	President every 7 years a comprehensive review and 20
849	849	evaluation of the implementation of this Act, includ-21
850	850	ing the identification of the resources needed to 22
851	851	carry out the requirements under this Act and the 23
852	852	amendments made by this Act for the foreseeable fu-24
853	853	ture; 25
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856	856	•HR 3127 IH
857	857	(6) make the reports described in paragraphs 1
858	858	(4) and (5) publicly available at the time they are 2
859	859	submitted to Congress and to the President; 3
860	860	(7) establish and maintain standards for the 4
861	861	provision of representation that are consistent with 5
862	862	appointed counsel’s duty to provide representation 6
863	863	under section 292 of the Immigration and Nation-7
864	864	ality Act, including— 8
865	865	(A) the minimum experience, skill, per-9
866	866	formance, and other qualifications for participa-10
867	867	tion as appointed counsel; 11
868	868	(B) ongoing training, professional develop-12
869	869	ment, and mentorship and supervision required 13
870	870	to remain eligible to serve as appointed counsel 14
871	871	under such section 292; 15
872	872	(C) reasonable, manageable, and sustain-16
873	873	able appointed counsel caseloads that are con-17
874	874	sistent with appointed counsel’s primary duty to 18
875	875	provide representation to individuals described 19
876	876	in such section 292; 20
877	877	(D) the elements to be evaluated during 21
878	878	performance reviews of appointed counsel to de-22
879	879	termine whether they complied with their duty 23
880	880	to provide representation under such section 24
881	881	292; 25
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884	884	•HR 3127 IH
885	885	(E) how to provide adequate representation 1
886	886	of clients whose cases present conflicts of inter-2
887	887	est; and 3
888	888	(F) ensuring continued representation in 4
889	889	circumstances in which clients move or are 5
890	890	transferred, or where cases are transferred or 6
891	891	change venue; 7
892	892	(8) evaluate plans submitted by Local Boards 8
893	893	for the provision of representation of individuals be-9
894	894	fore U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in 10
895	895	matters described in section 292 of the Immigration 11
896	896	and Nationality Act, after taking into account the 12
897	897	ability of such plans to provide such representation, 13
898	898	and approve such plans if they meet applicable legal 14
899	899	requirements of law and are consistent with the poli-15
900	900	cies of the Office; 16
901	901	(9) review the implementation of plans ap-17
902	902	proved by the Board not less frequently than once 18
903	903	every 4 years to ensure that each Local Board com-19
904	904	plies with the plan approved by the Board; 20
905	905	(10) establish policies and procedures with re-21
906	906	spect to compensation rates and reimbursement of 22
907	907	reasonable expenses for appointed counsel under 23
908	908	such section 292 and others providing services re-24
909	909	lated to such representation; 25
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912	912	•HR 3127 IH
913	913	(11) establish procedures to obtain investiga-1
914	914	tors, experts, interpreters, and other providers of de-2
915	915	fense services necessary for effective representation 3
916	916	of individuals who are entitled to counsel under such 4
917	917	section 292; 5
918	918	(12) establish procedures for the reimbursement 6
919	919	of reasonable expenses of attorneys, investigators, 7
920	920	experts, interpreters, and other persons providing 8
921	921	representation and related services under such sec-9
922	922	tion 292; 10
923	923	(13) approve staffing levels and budgets for Im-11
924	924	migration Public Defender Organizations; 12
925	925	(14) approve staffing levels and budgets for the 13
926	926	Office; and 14
927	927	(15) establish a mechanism for the submission, 15
928	928	review, resolution, and reporting of complaints from 16
929	929	individuals entitled to counsel under such section 17
930	930	292 regarding such representation. 18
931	931	(l) P
932	932	OWERS OF THE BOARD.—The Board is author-19
933	933	ized— 20
934	934	(1) to delegate any of its duties, in whole or in 21
935	935	part, to the Director, except for the duties described 22
936	936	in paragraphs (1), (7), (13) and (14) of subsection 23
937	937	(k); 24
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940	940	•HR 3127 IH
941	941	(2) to alter or revoke any such delegation to the 1
942	942	Director; 2
943	943	(3) to provide to Congress information regard-3
944	944	ing the immigration system that the Board considers 4
945	945	relevant to the purpose of the Office; 5
946	946	(4) to authorize studies or reports that relate to 6
947	947	the purpose of the Office; 7
948	948	(5) to combine Local Boards or divide an area 8
949	949	served by a Local Board if the Board determines 9
950	950	that such action is necessary to carry out the pur-10
951	951	poses of this section; 11
952	952	(6) to remove, by a vote of at least 13 mem-12
953	953	bers, a member or members of a Local Board for 13
954	954	malfeasance in office, persistent neglect of or inabil-14
955	955	ity to discharge duties, or conduct unbecoming of a 15
956	956	member of the Local Board; 16
957	957	(7) to seek, accept, and use public grants, pri-17
958	958	vate contributions, and voluntary and uncompen-18
959	959	sated (gratuitous services) to assist the Board in 19
960	960	carrying out the purposes of this Act and other serv-20
961	961	ices related to such purposes; and 21
962	962	(8) to take any other action that is reasonably 22
963	963	necessary and not inconsistent with the Act to carry 23
964	964	out the purposes of this Act. 24
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967	967	•HR 3127 IH
968	968	SEC. 204. DIRECTOR. 1
969	969	(a) R
970	970	EQUIREMENTS.—The Director of the Office— 2
971	971	(1) shall be a licensed attorney in good standing 3
972	972	in any United States jurisdiction at the time of his 4
973	973	or her appointment and at all times during his or 5
974	974	her service as the Director; 6
975	975	(2) shall be experienced in representing people 7
976	976	in proceedings described in section 292 of the Immi-8
977	977	gration and Nationality Act, as amended by section 9
978	978	101 of this Act; and 10
979	979	(3) may not be a member of the Board. 11
980	980	(b) D
981	981	UTIES.—The Director shall— 12
982	982	(1) appoint and fix the compensation of employ-13
983	983	ees of the Office; 14
984	984	(2) establish a personnel management system 15
985	985	for the Office that provides for the appointment, 16
986	986	pay, promotion, and assignment of all employees on 17
987	987	the basis of merit, but without regard to the provi-18
988	988	sions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United 19
989	989	States, Code (relating to appointments in the com-20
990	990	petitive service) or the provisions of chapter 51 and 21
991	991	subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title (relating 22
992	992	to classification and General Schedule pay rates); 23
993	993	(3) employ such personnel as may be necessary 24
994	994	to advance the purposes of the Office, subject to 25
995	995	staffing and budget approval of the Board; 26
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998	998	•HR 3127 IH
999	999	(4) provide an annual report to the Board re-1
1000	1000	garding the activities of the Office; 2
1001	1001	(5) provide such periodic reports and work 3
1002	1002	product to the Board sufficient for the Board to ful-4
1003	1003	fill its duties under section 203(k); 5
1004	1004	(6) allocate and disburse funds appropriated for 6
1005	1005	legal representation and related services in cases 7
1006	1006	subject to this Act pursuant to rules and procedures 8
1007	1007	established by the Board; 9
1008	1008	(7) enter into contracts to provide or receive 10
1009	1009	services with any public or private agency, group, or 11
1010	1010	individual; 12
1011	1011	(8) appoint a Local Administrator for each re-13
1012	1012	gion to administer and approve, subject to the poli-14
1013	1013	cies established by the Board, the payment of funds 15
1014	1014	necessary for Panel Attorney representation, includ-16
1015	1015	ing Panel Attorney compensation, investigators, ex-17
1016	1016	perts, and other providers of representation services, 18
1017	1017	and any other necessary expenses for effective rep-19
1018	1018	resentation; 20
1019	1019	(9) assist the Board in developing rules and 21
1020	1020	standards for the delivery of services under this Act; 22
1021	1021	(10) coordinate the services funded by the Of-23
1022	1022	fice with any Federal, state, county, local, or private 24
1023	1023	programs established to provide legal assistance to 25
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1026	1026	•HR 3127 IH
1027	1027	persons in cases subject to this Act who are unable 1
1028	1028	to afford representation; 2
1029	1029	(11) consult with professional bodies concerning 3
1030	1030	improving the administration of legal representation 4
1031	1031	for persons in proceedings described in section 292 5
1032	1032	of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended 6
1033	1033	by section 101 of this Act; and 7
1034	1034	(12) perform such other duties as may be as-8
1035	1035	signed by the Board. 9
1036	1036	SEC. 205. EMPLOYEES. 10
1037	1037	(a) I
1038	1038	NGENERAL.—Employees of the Office shall be 11
1039	1039	treated as employees of the Federal Government solely for 12
1040	1040	purposes of— 13
1041	1041	(1) subchapter 1 of chapter 81 of title 5, 14
1042	1042	United States Code (relating to compensation for 15
1043	1043	work injuries); 16
1044	1044	(2) chapter 83 of such title 5 (relating to retire-17
1045	1045	ment); 18
1046	1046	(3) chapter 84 of such title 5 (relating to the 19
1047	1047	Federal Employees’ Retirement System); 20
1048	1048	(4) chapter 87 of such title 5 (relating to life 21
1049	1049	insurance); and 22
1050	1050	(5) chapter 89 of such title 5 (relating to health 23
1051	1051	insurance). 24
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1054	1054	•HR 3127 IH
1055	1055	(b) EMPLOYERCONTRIBUTIONS.—The Office shall 1
1056	1056	make contributions on behalf of employees of the Office 2
1057	1057	under the provisions referred to in subsection (a) at the 3
1058	1058	same rates applicable to employees of agencies of the Fed-4
1059	1059	eral Government. 5
1060	1060	(c) T
1061	1061	HRIFTSAVINGSPLAN.—Employees of the Office 6
1062	1062	may make an election under section 8351 or 8432 of title 7
1063	1063	5, United States Code, to participate in the Thrift Savings 8
1064	1064	Plan for Federal employees. 9
1065	1065	SEC. 206. LOCAL IMMIGRATION REPRESENTATION BOARDS. 10
1066	1066	(a) E
1067	1067	STABLISHMENT.—Not later than 6 months after 11
1068	1068	the establishment of the Board, the Office shall delineate 12
1069	1069	administrative regions throughout the United States and 13
1070	1070	establish a local immigration representation board for 14
1071	1071	each region. 15
1072	1072	(b) C
1073	1073	OMPOSITION OFLOCALBOARDS.— 16
1074	1074	(1) I
1075	1075	N GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c), 17
1076	1076	each Local Board shall consist of not fewer than 5 18
1077	1077	members and not greater than 15 members, who 19
1078	1078	shall initially be selected by the Board after con-20
1079	1079	sultation with stakeholders in the Local Board’s re-21
1080	1080	gion, including immigration legal service providers, 22
1081	1081	community-based organizations, and people who are 23
1082	1082	or have been subject to proceedings described in sec-24
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1085	1085	•HR 3127 IH
1086	1086	tion 292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 1
1087	1087	amended by section 101. 2
1088	1088	(2) A
1089	1089	TTORNEYS.—Not fewer than 50 percent of 3
1090	1090	the members of the Local Board selected pursuant 4
1091	1091	to paragraph (1) shall be— 5
1092	1092	(A) licensed attorneys with experience in 6
1093	1093	the practice of removal defense; or 7
1094	1094	(B) employees of community-based organi-8
1095	1095	zations providing services to immigrants. 9
1096	1096	(3) S
1097	1097	UBSEQUENT MEMBERS .—After the initial 10
1098	1098	members are selected pursuant to paragraph (1), 11
1099	1099	each Local Board shall select its own members in 12
1100	1100	accordance with bylaws that have been approved by 13
1101	1101	the Office. 14
1102	1102	(c) Q
1103	1103	UALIFICATION OFMEMBERS.— 15
1104	1104	(1) E
1105	1105	XPERIENCE; COMMITMENT.—Members of 16
1106	1106	a Local Board shall have— 17
1107	1107	(A) significant experience defending cases 18
1108	1108	described in section 292 of the Immigration and 19
1109	1109	Nationality Act, as amended by section 101; 20
1110	1110	and 21
1111	1111	(B) demonstrated a strong commitment to 22
1112	1112	representation in indigent defense matters. 23
1113	1113	(2) D
1114	1114	IVERSITY.—The composition of each Local 24
1115	1115	Boards shall reflect the diversity of the population 25
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1118	1118	•HR 3127 IH
1119	1119	that counsel appointed pursuant to such section 292 1
1120	1120	are responsible for representing, including diversity 2
1121	1121	of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, immigra-3
1122	1122	tion experience, and socioeconomic background. 4
1123	1123	(3) R
1124	1124	ESTRICTIONS.—A member of a Local 5
1125	1125	Board may not— 6
1126	1126	(A) be an employee of an Immigration 7
1127	1127	Public Defender Organization or Community 8
1128	1128	Defender Organization with a contract to pro-9
1129	1129	vide representation under such section 292; 10
1130	1130	(B) be a member of an Attorney Panel re-11
1131	1131	ferred to in section 207(d); 12
1132	1132	(C) be a judicial officer of the United 13
1133	1133	States or of a State, territory, district, posses-14
1134	1134	sion, or commonwealth of the United States; 15
1135	1135	(D) be employed as a prosecutor, a law en-16
1136	1136	forcement official, or a judicial official, or by a 17
1137	1137	prosecutorial or law enforcement agency; or 18
1138	1138	(E) have held a position described in sub-19
1139	1139	paragraph (D) during the 3-year period imme-20
1140	1140	diately preceding his or her appointment to the 21
1141	1141	Board. 22
1142	1142	(d) T
1143	1143	ERM OFMEMBERS OF ALOCALBOARD.— 23
1144	1144	(1) I
1145	1145	N GENERAL.—Members of a Local Board 24
1146	1146	shall serve 4-year terms, except that the terms of 25
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1149	1149	•HR 3127 IH
1150	1150	the initial members shall be staggered so that the 1
1151	1151	term of not more than 50 percent of the members 2
1152	1152	expire during any calendar year. 3
1153	1153	(2) M
1154	1154	AXIMUM LENGTH OF SERVICE .—A person 4
1155	1155	may not serve for more than 9 years on a Local 5
1156	1156	Board. 6
1157	1157	(3) R
1158	1158	EPLACEMENT MEMBERS .—A person who 7
1159	1159	is appointed to replace a member who has resigned 8
1160	1160	or was removed shall serve the remainder of the 9
1161	1161	term of such departing person. 10
1162	1162	(e) C
1163	1163	OMPENSATION OF MEMBERS OF A LOCAL 11
1164	1164	B
1165	1165	OARD.— 12
1166	1166	(1) I
1167	1167	N GENERAL.—Members of any Local 13
1168	1168	Board shall be paid for their service at the daily rate 14
1169	1169	at which judges of the United States courts of ap-15
1170	1170	peals are compensated, but may not be paid for 16
1171	1171	more than 90 days of such service in any calendar 17
1172	1172	year. 18
1173	1173	(2) T
1174	1174	RAVEL EXPENSES.—Members of any Local 19
1175	1175	Board shall receive travel expenses, including per 20
1176	1176	diem in lieu of subsistence, in accordance with appli-21
1177	1177	cable provisions under subchapter I of chapter 57 of 22
1178	1178	title 5, United States Code. 23
1179	1179	(f) C
1180	1180	HAIR OFLOCALBOARD.—Each Local Board 24
1181	1181	shall elect a member of the Local Board to serve as chair 25
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1184	1184	•HR 3127 IH
1185	1185	for 2 years, which term shall begin on the date of election. 1
1186	1186	Such chair may be reelected to extend such service for an 2
1187	1187	additional 2-year term. 3
1188	1188	(g) R
1189	1189	EMOVAL OFMEMBER OFLOCALBOARD.—Each 4
1190	1190	Local Board, by a majority vote of the full membership, 5
1191	1191	may remove a member from the Local Board for— 6
1192	1192	(1) malfeasance in office; 7
1193	1193	(2) persistent neglect of, or inability to dis-8
1194	1194	charge, Local Board duties; or 9
1195	1195	(3) conduct unbecoming of a member of the 10
1196	1196	Local Board. 11
1197	1197	(h) Q
1198	1198	UORUM OFLOCALBOARD.—A majority of the 12
1199	1199	full membership of the Local Board shall constitute a 13
1200	1200	quorum for the purpose of conducting business. 14
1201	1201	(i) L
1202	1202	OCALBOARDGOVERNANCE.—Each Local Board 15
1203	1203	shall adopt bylaws governing the operation of the Local 16
1204	1204	Board, which may include provisions authorizing other of-17
1205	1205	ficers of the Local Board and proxy voting. 18
1206	1206	(j) D
1207	1207	ISSOLUTION OFLOCALBOARDS.—The Board, 19
1208	1208	upon a
1209	1209	2
1210	1210	⁄3vote, may dissolve a Local Board for good 20
1211	1211	cause. Upon dissolution, the Office shall ensure that a new 21
1212	1212	Local Board is established not later than 90 days of dis-22
1213	1213	solution. The new members of the Local Board shall be 23
1214	1214	selected by the majority votes of the Immigration Public 24
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1218	1218	Defenders and the Panel Attorney representatives of the 1
1219	1219	district or districts to be served and the Director. 2
1220	1220	(k) D
1221	1221	UTIES OFLOCALBOARDS.— 3
1222	1222	(1) L
1223	1223	OCAL PLANS.— 4
1224	1224	(A) I
1225	1225	N GENERAL.—Each Local Board— 5
1226	1226	(i) not later than 120 days after the 6
1227	1227	Local Board is established, shall develop 7
1228	1228	and submit to the Office for approval a 8
1229	1229	Local Plan for the provision of representa-9
1230	1230	tion services for the region served by the 10
1231	1231	Local Board; 11
1232	1232	(ii) shall implement the Local Plan 12
1233	1233	after it has been approved by the Office; 13
1234	1234	(iii) may modify the Local Plan at 14
1235	1235	any time, subject to the approval of the 15
1236	1236	Office; and 16
1237	1237	(iv) shall modify the Local Plan if so 17
1238	1238	directed by the Office. 18
1239	1239	(B) C
1240	1240	OMPONENTS; DEVELOPMENT.—Each 19
1241	1241	Local Plan developed pursuant to subparagraph 20
1242	1242	(A)— 21
1243	1243	(i) shall provide for the appointment 22
1244	1244	of counsel in a timely manner in accord-23
1245	1245	ance with this Act; 24
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1248	1248	•HR 3127 IH
1249	1249	(ii) shall be developed in consultation 1
1250	1250	with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 2
1251	1251	Services to ensure that it adequately en-3
1252	1252	compasses proceedings described in section 4
1253	1253	292 of the Immigration and Nationality 5
1254	1254	Act that are within the jurisdiction of U.S. 6
1255	1255	Citizenship and Immigration Services; 7
1256	1256	(iii) shall consider the existence of any 8
1257	1257	State, county, or locally funded programs 9
1258	1258	providing representation to people in pro-10
1259	1259	ceedings described in such section 292; 11
1260	1260	(iv) may provide grants or reimburse-12
1261	1261	ments to jurisdictions with programs de-13
1262	1262	scribed in clause (iii) that provide rep-14
1263	1263	resentation that furthers the purposes of 15
1264	1264	this Act; 16
1265	1265	(v) shall prioritize such grants or re-17
1266	1266	imbursements for State, county, and lo-18
1267	1267	cally funded programs that provide rep-19
1268	1268	resentation to people involved in a pro-20
1269	1269	ceeding described in such section 292 with-21
1270	1270	out regard to any past interaction with the 22
1271	1271	immigration or criminal legal systems; 23
1272	1272	(vi) may, in accordance with section 24
1273	1273	207— 25
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1276	1276	•HR 3127 IH
1277	1277	(I) establish 1 or more Immigra-1
1278	1278	tion Public Defender Organizations; 2
1279	1279	and 3
1280	1280	(II) contract with 1 or more 4
1281	1281	Community Defender Organizations; 5
1282	1282	(vii) shall provide for the establish-6
1283	1283	ment of a panel of private attorneys to 7
1284	1284	provide representation under such section 8
1285	1285	292, in accordance with section 207 of this 9
1286	1286	Act; and 10
1287	1287	(viii) shall provide a plan for holding 11
1288	1288	community engagement meetings that are 12
1289	1289	open to the public not less frequently than 13
1290	1290	twice during each fiscal year. 14
1291	1291	(C) L
1292	1292	OCAL PLANS WITH BORDER -BASED 15
1293	1293	COMPONENTS.— 16
1294	1294	(i) I
1295	1295	N GENERAL.—The Local Plan for 17
1296	1296	each region that is adjacent to the inter-18
1297	1297	national border between the United States 19
1298	1298	and Mexico border shall provide for rep-20
1299	1299	resentation to all people subject to a pro-21
1300	1300	ceeding described in section 292 of the Im-22
1301	1301	migration and Nationality Act, as amended 23
1302	1302	by section 101 of this Act. 24
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1305	1305	•HR 3127 IH
1306	1306	(ii) IDENTIFYING COUNSEL .—The 1
1307	1307	Local Board of each region described in 2
1308	1308	clause (i) may utilize the entities specified 3
1309	1309	in section 207 and Attorney of the Day, 4
1310	1310	attorney fellowship, and other models— 5
1311	1311	(I) to provide limited representa-6
1312	1312	tion to people in proceedings at the 7
1313	1313	border; and 8
1314	1314	(II) to coordinate case transfers 9
1315	1315	and referrals for legal representation 10
1316	1316	for people who are subsequently re-11
1317	1317	leased from, or transferred within, the 12
1318	1318	custody of the Department of Home-13
1319	1319	land Security or the Office of Refugee 14
1320	1320	Resettlement. 15
1321	1321	(2) A
1322	1322	PPOINTMENTS TO IMMIGRATION REP -16
1323	1323	RESENTATION ADVISORY BOARD .—If a Local Plan 17
1324	1324	does not provide for the establishment of an Immi-18
1325	1325	gration Public Defender Organization or contracting 19
1326	1326	with a Community Defender Organization in the re-20
1327	1327	gion, the Local Board shall appoint representatives 21
1328	1328	to the Immigration Representation Advisory Board 22
1329	1329	established under section 210(a). 23
1330	1330	(3) L
1331	1331	OCAL ADMINISTRATOR .—Each Local 24
1332	1332	Board shall appoint, subject to the approval of the 25
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1336	1336	Office, a Local Administrator and such staff as may 1
1337	1337	be necessary to assist the Local Board in admin-2
1338	1338	istering the selection and appointment of Panel At-3
1339	1339	torneys. 4
1340	1340	(4) I
1341	1341	MMIGRATION PUBLIC DEFENDER .—If a 5
1342	1342	Local Plan includes the establishment of 1 or more 6
1343	1343	Immigration Public Defender Organizations, the 7
1344	1344	Local Board shall— 8
1345	1345	(A) select 1 or more Immigration Public 9
1346	1346	Defenders, who shall serve in accordance with 10
1347	1347	section 207(b), for the region or a portion of 11
1348	1348	the region that will be served by the Local 12
1349	1349	Board; 13
1350	1350	(B) periodically evaluate the performance 14
1351	1351	of the Immigration Public Defender; and 15
1352	1352	(C) submit the results of the evaluations 16
1353	1353	required under subparagraph (B), as directed 17
1354	1354	by the Office. 18
1355	1355	(5) D
1356	1356	UTIES OF LOCAL ADMINISTRATOR .—Each 19
1357	1357	Local Administrator shall— 20
1358	1358	(A) review, and certify for payment, all 21
1359	1359	vouchers received from Panel Attorneys to com-22
1360	1360	pensate them for— 23
1361	1361	(i) their time spent representing cli-24
1362	1362	ents appointed to them pursuant to section 25
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1366	1366	292 of the Immigration and Nationality 1
1367	1367	Act, as amended by section 101 of this 2
1368	1368	Act; and 3
1369	1369	(ii) the costs of investigators, experts, 4
1370	1370	interpreters, and other providers of defense 5
1371	1371	services for work performed on behalf of 6
1372	1372	the Panel Attorneys and their clients; 7
1373	1373	(B) authorize reasonable expenditures for 8
1374	1374	transcripts and the services of paralegals and 9
1375	1375	other legal support personnel, to the extent nec-10
1376	1376	essary; 11
1377	1377	(C) prepare, at the direction of the Office, 12
1378	1378	an annual budget for the provision of represen-13
1379	1379	tation services under such section 292, except 14
1380	1380	for representation services provided by an Im-15
1381	1381	migration Public Defender Office; 16
1382	1382	(D) implement procedures established by 17
1383	1383	the Office, permitting a Panel Attorney or other 18
1384	1384	representative appointed under such section 19
1385	1385	292 to appeal a decision of the Local Adminis-20
1386	1386	trator concerning compensation or reimburse-21
1387	1387	ment; and 22
1388	1388	(E) perform other duties related to the au-23
1389	1389	thorization, payment, and budgeting of ex-24
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1393	1393	penses related to Panel Attorneys, as assigned 1
1394	1394	by the Director. 2
1395	1395	(6) R
1396	1396	EPRESENTATION OF FINANCIALLY ELIGI -3
1397	1397	BLE PERSONS.—The Local Board shall establish 4
1398	1398	procedures for the appointment of counsel for any 5
1399	1399	person who— 6
1400	1400	(A) is subject to a proceeding described in 7
1401	1401	section 292 of the Immigration and Nationality 8
1402	1402	Act, as amended by section 101; and 9
1403	1403	(B) is financially unable to obtain high- 10
1404	1404	quality representation. 11
1405	1405	SEC. 207. TYPES OF IMMIGRATION DEFENDERS. 12
1406	1406	(a) I
1407	1407	NGENERAL.—To ensure representation of all el-13
1408	1408	igible persons in proceedings described in section 292 of 14
1409	1409	the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by sec-15
1410	1410	tion 101, the Local Board may— 16
1411	1411	(1) establish 1 or more Immigration Public De-17
1412	1412	fender Organizations in the region comprising the 18
1413	1413	Local Board’s jurisdiction; 19
1414	1414	(2) contract with existing Community Defender 20
1415	1415	Organizations; and 21
1416	1416	(3) establish a Panel Attorney system. 22
1417	1417	(b) I
1418	1418	MMIGRATIONPUBLICDEFENDER.— 23
1419	1419	(1) I
1420	1420	N GENERAL.—An Immigration Public De-24
1421	1421	fender Organization shall consist of 1or more full- 25
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1425	1425	time salaried attorneys. Each Immigration Public 1
1426	1426	Defender Organization shall be supervised by an Im-2
1427	1427	migration Public Defender appointed by the Local 3
1428	1428	Board that established the organization, subject to 4
1429	1429	the approval of the Office and without regard to the 5
1430	1430	provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing 6
1431	1431	appointments in the competitive service. 7
1432	1432	(2) R
1433	1433	EMOVAL.— 8
1434	1434	(A) I
1435	1435	N GENERAL.—The Immigration Pub-9
1436	1436	lic Defender shall serve at the pleasure of the 10
1437	1437	Local Board, but may be removed by the Direc-11
1438	1438	tor for— 12
1439	1439	(i) malfeasance in office; 13
1440	1440	(ii) persistent neglect or inability to 14
1441	1441	discharge the duties of an Immigration 15
1442	1442	Public Defender; or 16
1443	1443	(iii) conduct unbecoming of a rep-17
1444	1444	resentative of the Office. 18
1445	1445	(B) N
1446	1446	ONFACTORS FOR JUSTIFYING RE -19
1447	1447	MOVAL.—The efforts and advocacy of an Immi-20
1448	1448	gration Public Defender to ensure that the Of-21
1449	1449	fice carries out its responsibilities under this 22
1450	1450	Act, including ensuring parity of resources, pro-23
1451	1451	tecting counsel’s duty to provide representation, 24
1452	1452	and ensuring manageable caseloads consistent 25
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1456	1456	with that duty, may not serve as a basis for re-1
1457	1457	moval or for initiating proceedings for removal 2
1458	1458	against the Immigration Public Defender. 3
1459	1459	(3) C
1460	1460	ONTINUED SERVICE UNTIL APPOINTMENT 4
1461	1461	OF SUCCESSOR.—Upon the expiration of the term of 5
1462	1462	service for which he or she was appointed, an Immi-6
1463	1463	gration Public Defender may continue to perform 7
1464	1464	the duties of such office, in accordance with rules es-8
1465	1465	tablished by the Local Board, until the earlier of— 9
1466	1466	(A) the date on which a successor is ap-10
1467	1467	pointed; or 11
1468	1468	(B) the date that is 1 year after the expi-12
1469	1469	ration of such term. 13
1470	1470	(4) C
1471	1471	OMPENSATION.—The compensation of 14
1472	1472	each Immigration Public Defender shall be fixed by 15
1473	1473	the Local Board at a rate that is comparable to— 16
1474	1474	(A) the rate of compensation received by 17
1475	1475	the Principal Legal Advisor of U.S. Immigra-18
1476	1476	tion and Customs Enforcement who is prac-19
1477	1477	ticing in the nearest court where representation 20
1478	1478	is furnished; or 21
1479	1479	(B) if more than 1 court is involved, the 22
1480	1480	rate of compensation that is paid to the higher 23
1481	1481	paid Principal Legal Advisor in such courts. 24
1482	1482	(5) A
1483	1483	DDITIONAL PERSONNEL .— 25
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1487	1487	(A) APPOINTMENTS.—The Immigration 1
1488	1488	Public Defender may appoint, without regard to 2
1489	1489	the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 3
1490	1490	governing appointments in the competitive serv-4
1491	1491	ice, full-time attorneys in such number as may 5
1492	1492	be approved by the Office and other personnel 6
1493	1493	in such number as may be approved. 7
1494	1494	(B) C
1495	1495	OMPENSATION.—Compensation paid 8
1496	1496	to the attorneys and other personnel approved 9
1497	1497	by the Office pursuant to subparagraph (A) 10
1498	1498	shall be fixed by the Immigration Public De-11
1499	1499	fender at a rate that is comparable to— 12
1500	1500	(i) the rate of compensation that is 13
1501	1501	paid to attorneys and other personnel of 14
1502	1502	similar qualifications and experience in the 15
1503	1503	Office of the Principal Legal Advisor in 16
1504	1504	the nearest court where representation is 17
1505	1505	furnished; or 18
1506	1506	(ii) if more than 1 court is involved, 19
1507	1507	the rate of compensation that is paid to 20
1508	1508	the higher paid person of similar qualifica-21
1509	1509	tions and experience in such courts. 22
1510	1510	(6) T
1511	1511	REATMENT AS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 23
1512	1512	EMPLOYEES.—Employees of an Immigration Public 24
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1516	1516	Defender Organization shall be treated as employees 1
1517	1517	of the Federal Government solely for purposes of— 2
1518	1518	(A) subchapter 1 of chapter 81 of title 5, 3
1519	1519	United States Code (relating to compensation 4
1520	1520	for work injuries); 5
1521	1521	(B) chapter 83 of such title 5 (relating to 6
1522	1522	retirement); 7
1523	1523	(C) chapter 84 of such title 5 (relating to 8
1524	1524	the Federal Employees’ Retirement System); 9
1525	1525	(D) chapter 87 of such title 5 (relating to 10
1526	1526	life insurance); and 11
1527	1527	(E) chapter 89 of such title 5 (relating to 12
1528	1528	health insurance). 13
1529	1529	(7) R
1530	1530	ESTRICTION.—An Immigration Public De-14
1531	1531	fender and any attorney appointed to serve in an 15
1532	1532	Immigration Public Defender Organization is pro-16
1533	1533	hibited from engaging in the private practice of law. 17
1534	1534	(8) L
1535	1535	IMITED LIABILITY.—The Office, to the ex-18
1536	1536	tent the Director considers appropriate, shall provide 19
1537	1537	representation for and hold harmless, or provide li-20
1538	1538	ability insurance for, any person who is an officer or 21
1539	1539	employee of an Immigration Public Defender Orga-22
1540	1540	nization. 23
1541	1541	(9) R
1542	1542	EPORTS.—Each Immigration Public De-24
1543	1543	fender Organization shall submit periodic reports of 25
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1546	1546	•HR 3127 IH
1547	1547	its activities and financial positions and its proposed 1
1548	1548	budget to the Local Board at the times and in the 2
1549	1549	form prescribed by the Local Board. 3
1550	1550	(c) C
1551	1551	OMMUNITYDEFENDERORGANIZATIONS.— 4
1552	1552	(1) I
1553	1553	N GENERAL.—A Community Defender Or-5
1554	1554	ganization shall be a nonprofit legal representation 6
1555	1555	service established and administered by any group 7
1556	1556	authorized by the Local Plan to provide representa-8
1557	1557	tion to individuals subject to proceedings described 9
1558	1558	in section 292 of the Immigration and Nationality 10
1559	1559	Act, as amended by section 101. 11
1560	1560	(2) A
1561	1561	NNUAL REPORT.—Each Community De-12
1562	1562	fender Organization shall submit an annual report 13
1563	1563	to the Local Board that sets forth its activities dur-14
1564	1564	ing the previous fiscal year and the anticipated case-15
1565	1565	load and expenses for the upcoming fiscal year. 16
1566	1566	(d) A
1567	1567	TTORNEYPANEL.—Each Local Plan developed 17
1568	1568	pursuant to section 206(k)(1) shall provide for— 18
1569	1569	(1) the appointment of qualified private attor-19
1570	1570	neys from an Attorney Panel within the region; 20
1571	1571	(2) the implementation of standards established 21
1572	1572	by the Office setting forth the minimum qualifica-22
1573	1573	tions for Panel Attorneys; and 23
1574	1574	(3) the establishment of a system to ensure 24
1575	1575	that— 25
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1579	1579	(A) the number of attorneys on each Attor-1
1580	1580	ney Panel is limited to provide each attorney 2
1581	1581	with sufficient appointments to maintain con-3
1582	1582	tinuing familiarity with immigration law and 4
1583	1583	procedure; 5
1584	1584	(B) there is early entry of counsel, includ-6
1585	1585	ing representation as soon as possible in all 7
1586	1586	proceedings described in section 292 of the Im-8
1587	1587	migration and Nationality Act, as amended by 9
1588	1588	section 101; 10
1589	1589	(C) there are adequate support services, 11
1590	1590	including training and technical support, for 12
1591	1591	members of each Attorney Panel for every area 13
1592	1592	in the region; 14
1593	1593	(D) conflicts of interests are avoided; and 15
1594	1594	(E) there is equal employment opportunity 16
1595	1595	for the employees of Immigration Public De-17
1596	1596	fender Organizations and Panel Attorneys. 18
1597	1597	SEC. 208. COMPENSATION AND REIMBURSEMENT OF EX-19
1598	1598	PENSES OF COUNSEL. 20
1599	1599	(a) I
1600	1600	NGENERAL.—The Office shall establish the ap-21
1601	1601	propriate hourly rates and salaries to be paid to counsel 22
1602	1602	appointed under each Local Plan, which— 23
1603	1603	(1) shall be established at levels that will ensure 24
1604	1604	the provision of high-quality legal representation for 25
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1608	1608	all people represented in proceedings described in 1
1609	1609	section 292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 2
1610	1610	as amended by section 101; and 3
1611	1611	(2) shall be calculated to provide appointed 4
1612	1612	counsel with compensation that is comparable to the 5
1613	1613	compensation paid to— 6
1614	1614	(A) attorneys who are employed by the Of-7
1615	1615	fice of the Principal Legal Advisor of U.S. Im-8
1616	1616	migration and Customs Enforcement nearest to 9
1617	1617	the forum in which such counsel is providing 10
1618	1618	representation; 11
1619	1619	(B) attorneys employed by the cor-12
1620	1620	responding Federal prosecutor’s office; or 13
1621	1621	(C) any other attorney representing the 14
1622	1622	Government in connection with proceedings that 15
1623	1623	are comparable to proceedings described in such 16
1624	1624	section 292. 17
1625	1625	(b) U
1626	1626	SE OFBILLINGCAPS.—If the Office places caps 18
1627	1627	on total billing for legal representation, the Office shall 19
1628	1628	establish policies and procedures for counsel to request au-20
1629	1629	thorization to exceed such caps to the extent required to 21
1630	1630	ensure effective representation. 22
1631	1631	(c) F
1632	1632	EES; ADDITIONALCOMPENSATION.—The Office 23
1633	1633	shall establish— 24
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1636	1636	•HR 3127 IH
1637	1637	(1) distinct fees to apply to counsel providing 1
1638	1638	services in proceedings that fall within the geo-2
1639	1639	graphic jurisdiction of each of the United States 3
1640	1640	courts of appeal within each region delineated by the 4
1641	1641	Office pursuant to section 206(a), after taking into 5
1642	1642	account the prevailing wage rates for qualified attor-6
1643	1643	neys within the geographic area in which representa-7
1644	1644	tion will be provided under section 292 of the Immi-8
1645	1645	gration and Nationality Act, as amended by section 9
1646	1646	101; and 10
1647	1647	(2) additional compensation to be paid to coun-11
1648	1648	sel who provide representation under such section 12
1649	1649	292 to individuals in remote and underserved areas, 13
1650	1650	after taking into account the distance from the place 14
1651	1651	of business of such counsel to— 15
1652	1652	(A) the immigration courts; 16
1653	1653	(B) Department of Homeland Security and 17
1654	1654	Department of Health and Human Services fa-18
1655	1655	cilities; and 19
1656	1656	(C) other relevant sites where such rep-20
1657	1657	resentation is expected to be provided. 21
1658	1658	(d) R
1659	1659	EIMBURSEMENT FOR EXPENSES; SALARYIN-22
1660	1660	CREASES.— 23
1661	1661	(1) R
1662	1662	EIMBURSEMENTS.—Counsel providing rep-24
1663	1663	resentation under section 292 of the Immigration 25
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1666	1666	•HR 3127 IH
1667	1667	and Nationality Act, as amended by section 101, 1
1668	1668	shall be reimbursed by the Department of Homeland 2
1669	1669	Security for expenses reasonably incurred in the 3
1670	1670	course of such representation, including the costs of 4
1671	1671	transcripts, but may not be reimbursed by the Fed-5
1672	1672	eral Government for expenses related to defending 6
1673	1673	against malpractice claims. 7
1674	1674	(2) S
1675	1675	ALARY INCREASES.—The Office shall es-8
1676	1676	tablish policies and procedures governing increases 9
1677	1677	in hourly rates, salaries, and fees initially deter-10
1678	1678	mined under subsection (a) or (c). 11
1679	1679	(e) P
1680	1680	AYMENTS INEXCESS OFESTABLISHEDFEES.— 12
1681	1681	The Office shall establish policies and procedures for re-13
1682	1682	questing and approving payments in excess of the fees es-14
1683	1683	tablished under subsection (c) for extended or complex 15
1684	1684	representation if such excess payments are necessary to 16
1685	1685	provide fair compensation for the counsel providing such 17
1686	1686	representation. 18
1687	1687	SEC. 209. SERVICES OTHER THAN COUNSEL. 19
1688	1688	(a) S
1689	1689	ERVICESTOBEPREAPPROVED BY THE LOCAL 20
1690	1690	B
1691	1691	OARD.— 21
1692	1692	(1) I
1693	1693	N GENERAL.—Counsel appointed to rep-22
1694	1694	resent individuals in proceedings described in section 23
1695	1695	292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 24
1696	1696	amended by section 101, may request approval from 25
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1700	1700	the Local Board for investigative, expert, or other 1
1701	1701	services necessary for such representation pursuant 2
1702	1702	to procedures established by the Board, including 3
1703	1703	services necessary to develop release plans and pro-4
1704	1704	vide post-release services for people in the custody of 5
1705	1705	the Department of Homeland Security or the Office 6
1706	1706	of Refugee Resettlement. 7
1707	1707	(2) E
1708	1708	XAMPLES OF SERVICES .—Services subject 8
1709	1709	to preapproval under paragraph (1) may include— 9
1710	1710	(A) the retention of specialized counsel in 10
1711	1711	connection with ancillary matters appropriate to 11
1712	1712	such proceedings; 12
1713	1713	(B) services and support related to mental 13
1714	1714	health, housing, addiction, food, travel, and ac-14
1715	1715	companiment to immigration court proceedings; 15
1716	1716	(C) copying or obtaining discovery mate-16
1717	1717	rials that are in the possession, custody, or con-17
1718	1718	trol of the Government; or 18
1719	1719	(D) any other services required to ensure 19
1720	1720	effective representation or the interests of jus-20
1721	1721	tice. 21
1722	1722	(b) S
1723	1723	ERVICESTOBEAPPROVED BY THE LOCAL 22
1724	1724	B
1725	1725	OARDAFTER THEFACT.— 23
1726	1726	(1) I
1727	1727	N GENERAL.—Counsel appointed to rep-24
1728	1728	resent individuals in proceedings described in section 25
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1732	1732	292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 1
1733	1733	amended by section 101, may obtain, without prior 2
1734	1734	authorization, but subject to later review by the 3
1735	1735	Local Board, investigative, expert, and other services 4
1736	1736	if necessary for representation. 5
1737	1737	(2) P
1738	1738	AYMENT.—In the interests of justice and 6
1739	1739	upon a determination by the Local Board that time-7
1740	1740	ly procurement of certain necessary services could 8
1741	1741	not await prior authorization, payment for such 9
1742	1742	services may be approved by the Local Board after 10
1743	1743	they have been obtained. 11
1744	1744	(c) A
1745	1745	MOUNT OF COMPENSATION.—In determining 12
1746	1746	the appropriate compensation for services other than 13
1747	1747	counsel, the Office shall ensure that such compensation 14
1748	1748	is comparable to the compensation paid to the Government 15
1749	1749	for substantially similar services. 16
1750	1750	(d) P
1751	1751	OLICIES ANDPROCEDURES.—The Office shall 17
1752	1752	establish policies and procedures that— 18
1753	1753	(1) identify the circumstances under which— 19
1754	1754	(A) payment shall be made for services 20
1755	1755	other than counsel; and 21
1756	1756	(B) prior authorization for certain nec-22
1757	1757	essary services is not required; and 23
1758	1758	(2) permit counsel appointed to represent indi-24
1759	1759	viduals in proceedings described in section 292 of 25
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1763	1763	the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by 1
1764	1764	section 101, to seek increases in funding for such 2
1765	1765	services if counsel reasonably believes that the com-3
1766	1766	pensation established by the Office pursuant to sub-4
1767	1767	section (c) does not meet the parity requirement 5
1768	1768	under such subsection. 6
1769	1769	(e) F
1770	1770	INANCIALELIGIBILITYDETERMINATIONS.— 7
1771	1771	(1) I
1772	1772	N GENERAL.—Private counsel for any per-8
1773	1773	son who is financially unable to obtain services other 9
1774	1774	than counsel necessary for representation, including 10
1775	1775	services described in subsections (a) and (b), may re-11
1776	1776	quest that the Local Administrator make a deter-12
1777	1777	mination of the financial eligibility for such person 13
1778	1778	to receive Government funding for such services. 14
1779	1779	(2) P
1780	1780	AYMENT.—If the Local Administrator de-15
1781	1781	termines that a person described in paragraph (1) is 16
1782	1782	financially unable to obtain necessary services other 17
1783	1783	than counsel, the Local Administrator shall author-18
1784	1784	ize payment for such services pursuant to procedures 19
1785	1785	established by the Office. 20
1786	1786	SEC. 210. IMMIGRATION REPRESENTATION ADVISORY 21
1787	1787	BOARD. 22
1788	1788	(a) E
1789	1789	STABLISHMENT.— 23
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1793	1793	(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 1
1794	1794	there is established the Immigration Representation 2
1795	1795	Advisory Board, which shall consist of— 3
1796	1796	(A) 1 Immigration Public Defender rep-4
1797	1797	resentative from each region delineated pursu-5
1798	1798	ant to section 206(a), who shall be selected by 6
1799	1799	the Immigration Public Defenders within each 7
1800	1800	such region; 8
1801	1801	(B) 1 Community Defender Organization 9
1802	1802	representative from each region delineated pur-10
1803	1803	suant to section 206(a), who shall be selected 11
1804	1804	by the Community Defender Organizations 12
1805	1805	within each such region; and 13
1806	1806	(C) 1 Panel Attorney representative from 14
1807	1807	within the jurisdiction of each Federal circuit 15
1808	1808	court of appeals, who shall be selected by the 16
1809	1809	Panel Attorneys within each such circuit. 17
1810	1810	(2) A
1811	1811	LTERNATIVE SELECTION PROCESS .— 18
1812	1812	(A) N
1813	1813	O IMMIGRATION PUBLIC DEFENDER 19
1814	1814	OFFICE.—If a Local Plan does not provide for 20
1815	1815	the establishment of an Immigration Public De-21
1816	1816	fender Office, the relevant Local Board shall 22
1817	1817	appoint 2 Community Defender Organization 23
1818	1818	representatives to serve on the Immigration 24
1819	1819	Representation Advisory Board. 25
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1823	1823	(B) NO COMMUNITY DEFENDER ORGANIZA -1
1824	1824	TION.—If a Local Plan does not provide for a 2
1825	1825	contract with a Community Defender Organiza-3
1826	1826	tion, the relevant Local Board shall appoint 2 4
1827	1827	Immigration Public Defender Representatives 5
1828	1828	to serve on the Immigration Representation Ad-6
1829	1829	visory Board. 7
1830	1830	(b) T
1831	1831	ERM OFSERVICE.— 8
1832	1832	(1) I
1833	1833	N GENERAL.—Members of the Immigration 9
1834	1834	Representation Advisory Board shall serve 2-year 10
1835	1835	terms, except that the terms of 50 percent of the ini-11
1836	1836	tial members appointed pursuant to subsection (a) 12
1837	1837	shall be 1 year. 13
1838	1838	(2) M
1839	1839	AXIMUM CONSECUTIVE SERVICE .—No 14
1840	1840	member may serve on the Immigration Representa-15
1841	1841	tion Advisory Board for more than 6 consecutive 16
1842	1842	years. 17
1843	1843	(3) P
1844	1844	ARTIAL TERM APPOINTMENTS .—If a mem-18
1845	1845	ber of the Immigration Representation Advisory 19
1846	1846	Board does not serve until the end of his or her 20
1847	1847	term due to resignation or removal, the person ap-21
1848	1848	pointed to replace such member shall serve for the 22
1849	1849	remainder of such term. 23
1850	1850	(c) C
1851	1851	OMPENSATION.—Members of the Immigration 24
1852	1852	Representation Advisory Board shall serve without com-25
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1855	1855	•HR 3127 IH
1856	1856	pensation, but shall be reimbursed for all actual and nec-1
1857	1857	essary expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of 2
1858	1858	their duties as members of the Immigration Representa-3
1859	1859	tion Advisory Board. 4
1860	1860	(d) G
1861	1861	OVERNANCE; MEETINGS.—The Immigration 5
1862	1862	Representation Advisory Board shall— 6
1863	1863	(1) establish bylaws; 7
1864	1864	(2) select a chairperson from among its mem-8
1865	1865	bers; 9
1866	1866	(3) appoint other such officers as it deems nec-10
1867	1867	essary; and 11
1868	1868	(4) meet not less frequently than once each 12
1869	1869	year. 13
1870	1870	TITLE III—AUTHORIZATION OF 14
1871	1871	APPROPRIATIONS 15
1872	1872	SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 16
1873	1873	(a) I
1874	1874	NGENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro-17
1875	1875	priated to the Office of Immigration Representation, out 18
1876	1876	of any money in the Treasury that is not otherwise appro-19
1877	1877	priated, such sums as may be necessary to carry out this 20
1878	1878	Act, and the amendments made by this Act, including— 21
1879	1879	(1) establishing and operating the Office; and 22
1880	1880	(2) providing continuing education and training 23
1881	1881	of counsel providing representation under section 24
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1884	1884	•HR 3127 IH
1885	1885	292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 1
1886	1886	amended by section 101. 2
1887	1887	(b) A
1888	1888	VAILABILITY OFFUNDS.—If so specified in ap-3
1889	1889	propriation Acts, amounts appropriated pursuant to sub-4
1890	1890	section (a) shall remain available until expended. Pay-5
1891	1891	ments from such appropriations shall be made under the 6
1892	1892	supervision of the Director of the Office of Immigration 7
1893	1893	Representation. 8
1894	1894	SEC. 302. MINIMUM FUNDING FOR THE OFFICE OF IMMI-9
1895	1895	GRATION REPRESENTATION. 10
1896	1896	(a) I
1897	1897	NGENERAL.—The amount appropriated to the 11
1898	1898	Office of Immigration Representation for each fiscal year 12
1899	1899	shall be not less than the amount equal to the sum of 13
1900	1900	the combined amount appropriated for Federal immigra-14
1901	1901	tion enforcement and prosecution agencies and the Office, 15
1902	1902	multiplied by the ‘‘prosecution-defense’’ ratio calculated 16
1903	1903	pursuant to subsection (b). 17
1904	1904	(b) C
1905	1905	ALCULATION OF PROSECUTION-DEFENSE 18
1906	1906	R
1907	1907	ATIO.— 19
1908	1908	(1) I
1909	1909	N GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-20
1910	1910	graph (2), the Office of Management and Budget 21
1911	1911	shall calculate the prosecution-defense ratio, for pur-22
1912	1912	poses of subsection (a), by dividing the sum appro-23
1913	1913	priated to the Office of Immigration Representation 24
1914	1914	account for the most recently concluded fiscal year 25
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1917	1917	•HR 3127 IH
1918	1918	by the combined amount appropriated for such fiscal 1
1919	1919	year for Federal immigration enforcement and pros-2
1920	1920	ecution agencies, including amounts appropriated 3
1921	1921	for— 4
1922	1922	(A) U.S. Immigration and Customs En-5
1923	1923	forcement; 6
1924	1924	(B) U.S. Customs and Border Protection; 7
1925	1925	and 8
1926	1926	(C) the Office of Immigration Litigation of 9
1927	1927	the Department of Justice. 10
1928	1928	(2) E
1929	1929	FFECT OF SHIFTING PROSECUTORIAL 11
1930	1930	FUNCTIONS.—If the law enforcement or prosecu-12
1931	1931	torial functions of the agencies or offices referred to 13
1932	1932	in subparagraphs (A) through (C) of paragraph (1) 14
1933	1933	on the date of the enactment of this Act are per-15
1934	1934	formed by different agencies or offices in a future 16
1935	1935	fiscal year, the Office of Management and Budget 17
1936	1936	shall use the amount appropriated for those func-18
1937	1937	tions in calculating the prosecution-defense ratio 19
1938	1938	under paragraph (1). 20
1939	1939	Æ
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1941	1941	ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS