H.R. 3101

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3101 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3101

To authorize the Attorney General to provide grants to States, units of 
local government, and organizations to support the recruitment, 
training, and development of staff and infrastructure needed to support 
the due process rights of individuals facing deportation.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 30, 2025

Mr. Garcia of California (for himself, Mrs. Torres of California, Mrs. 
Ramirez, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Frost, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Lee of 
Pennsylvania, Ms. Omar, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Goldman of New York, and Ms. 
Salinas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To authorize the Attorney General to provide grants to States, units of 
local government, and organizations to support the recruitment, 
training, and development of staff and infrastructure needed to support 
the due process rights of individuals facing deportation.

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 ``Securing Help for Immigrants through 
Education and Legal Development Act'' or the ``SHIELD Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Service area.--The term ``service area'' means the 
jurisdiction or geographical area in which an entity carries 
out activities using funds awarded under this Act.
(2) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(3) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local 
government'' has the meaning given such term in section 
901(a)(3) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
1968 (34 U.S.C. 10251(a)(3)).
(4) Individual facing deportation.--The term ``individual 
facing deportation'' means an individual in a proceeding under 
section 212(d)(5)(A), 235(b)(1)(B), 236, 238, 240, or 241 of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ACCESS TO LEGAL COUNSEL.

It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) unlike in the criminal legal system, there is no right 
to government-funded legal representation for people facing the 
devastating consequences of detention and deportation who 
cannot afford a lawyer, even children are not entitled to an 
attorney in these complex proceedings;
(2) as a result, most people in removal proceedings, 
including an estimated 80 percent of individuals held in 
immigration detention during deportation cases initiated in the 
past 20 years, are unrepresented and are forced to navigate the 
complexities of immigration law against trained government 
prosecutors alone;
(3) the consequences of detention or deportation are 
devastating, and can include the loss of liberty, the denial of 
lawful immigration status or United States citizenship, loss of 
livelihood, separation from and inability to support family, 
and life-threatening danger in the country of origin;
(4) legal representation has been proven to significantly 
increase the likelihood of someone being released from 
detention on bond and establishing a right to remain in the 
United States;
(5) studies show that detained immigrants with attorneys 
are 3.5 times more likely to be granted bond and people in 
detention with representation are up to 10.5 times more likely 
to obtain relief from deportation than those without 
representation, controlling for other factors;
(6) for nondetained people, 60 percent of individuals with 
lawyers win their cases compared to 17 percent of those without 
a lawyer;
(7) the detention and deportation system disproportionately 
impacts Black immigrants and reinforces systemic racism, and 
ensuring that immigrants have access to a lawyer reduces the 
harms of the racial inequities in the immigration system;
(8) since 2013, local and State governments have led the 
charge on providing public funding for deportation defense for 
their residents facing deportation, with over 55 local and 
State governments, including 10 States, funding these programs;
(9) the success of local and State publicly funded 
deportation defense programs demonstrate the positive impact 
that publicly funded universal representation programs have on 
improving individual outcomes, keeping families and communities 
together, and avoiding the resulting social, economic, and 
public health costs of deportation;
(10) while these local and State programs have made a 
significant impact, they are insufficient to meet the need for 
representation and the Federal Government must act to address 
the significant unmet need for legal defense in the Federal 
immigration system by passing the Fairness to Freedom Act of 
2023, which establishes a universal right to federally funded 
representation for anyone facing deportation, regardless of the 
individual's ability to pay;
(11) the growth of these local and State programs and the 
resulting staffing recruitment challenges have also further 
highlighted the acute need to develop and grow a legal and 
social services staffing and infrastructure to address the 
unmet representational needs for immigrants facing deportation;
(12) infrastructure must be built to maintain a highly 
skilled and sustainable legal defense workforce equipped with 
the tools to implement high-quality, independent legal 
representation regardless of the individual's ability to pay, 
prior contact with the criminal legal system, or the nature or 
perceived strength of their legal defense; and
(13) in its 2023 Report ``Access to Justice in Federal 
Administrative Proceedings'', the Legal Aid Interagency 
Roundtable outlines the harms that unrepresented individuals 
face in Federal administrative proceedings, including 
immigration court, and their core strategy of increasing 
representation and assistance by lawyers and nonlawyers for 
people in administrative proceedings.

SEC. 4. IMMIGRATION LEGAL SERVICES STAFF AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT 
PROGRAM.

(a) In General.--The Attorney General, acting through the Director 
of the Office of Access to Justice, shall award competitive workforce 
development and capacity building grants to eligible entities that are 
seeking to expand access to representation for individuals facing 
deportation by increasing the workforce and strengthening the legal 
services infrastructure needed to provide such representation.
(b) Eligibility Criteria.--An entity eligible to receive a grant 
under this section is a--
(1) State or unit of local government that has allocated 
public funds towards the provision of immigration-related legal 
services, including legal representation, legal assistance, 
community navigation, and related services, to individuals 
facing deportation;
(2) a community-based organization, nonprofit organization, 
or educational institution that provides or coordinates 
immigration-related legal services to individuals facing 
deportation; or
(3) a community-based organization, nonprofit organization, 
or educational institution that recruits, trains, or mentors 
individuals who provide or will provide immigration-related 
legal services to individuals facing deportation.
(c) Application.--An eligible entity seeking a grant under this 
section shall submit to the Director of the Office of Access to Justice 
an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Director may reasonably require.
(d) Use of Funds.--Funds awarded under this section shall be used 
to develop a workforce scaled to meet the representation needs of all 
individuals facing deportation, grow the immigration-related legal 
services infrastructure, and enhance long-term capacity to provide 
high-quality, holistic, and linguistically appropriate legal services, 
which may include--
(1) workforce recruitment and training programs, such as 
educational, fellowship, clinical, job recruitment, and job 
training services aimed at increasing the number of lawyers, 
accredited representatives, social workers, and community 
navigators entering the immigration legal services field;
(2) technical assistance services, such as--
(A) substantive and technical skills-based 
trainings to improve the quality of representation 
provided to individuals facing deportation;
(B) language training to ensure legal staff are 
equipped to provide linguistically appropriate 
services;
(C) specialized legal support to support 
representation in complex defense cases, including 
representation in Federal court and State court; and
(D) leadership development, including management 
training and establishing appropriate supervisory 
systems;
(3) local or regional coordination services to ensure a 
coordinated and efficient delivery of legal services to 
individuals facing deportation;
(4) retention improvement strategies to ensure sustainable 
growth of the immigration-related legal services field, 
including strategies to address caseload management, burnout, 
and organizational systems;
(5) recruiting and retaining legal staff from 
underrepresented backgrounds and promoting diversity within the 
legal services field;
(6) growing legal services infrastructure and 
representational capacity in locations with a significant unmet 
need for legal representation and with significantly less 
immigration-related legal services capacity in their service 
area than national averages; and
(7) physical, administrative, and technological 
infrastructure resources in coordination with a use of funds 
described in paragraphs (1) through (6).
(e) Contracts and Subawards.--A recipient of a grant under this 
section may, for purposes authorized under subsection (d), use all or a 
portion of that grant to contract with or make one or more subawards to 
one or more--
(1) community-based organization, nonprofit organization, 
private organization, or educational institution; or
(2) units of local government.
(f) Conditions.--As a condition of receiving a grant under this 
section, an eligible entity shall--
(1) submit to the Attorney General a certification that the 
proposed uses of grant funds by the entity--
(A) are consistent with this section; and
(B) meet the criteria determined by the Attorney 
General, in consultation with the Director of the 
Office of Access to Justice; and
(2) not later than 90 days after the end of each fiscal 
year for which an entity receives grant funds under this 
section, submit to the Director of the Office of Access to 
Justice a report that describes--
(A) the types of services being provided under the 
grant;
(B) the service area;
(C) the number of individuals recruited or retained 
through services funded under the grant;
(D) the impact that staffing recruitment and 
retention has had on organizational capacity to 
represent more individuals within the service area;
(E) the actual expenditures made in connection with 
the grant, including personnel and staffing structure 
and indirect costs;
(F) the outcomes of services; and
(G) a description of the continuing unmet 
representation needs of individuals facing deportation 
in the service area and recommendations of supports and 
resources needed to meet them.
(g) Grant Term.--The term of a grant under this section shall be 4 
years, and such grant may be renewed.
(h) Supplement of Non-Federal Funds.--Any Federal funds received 
under this section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, Federal 
or non-Federal funds that would otherwise be available for activities 
funded under this section.

SEC. 5. AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF THE ADMINISTERING AGENCY.

(a) Duties of the Director.--The Director of the Office of Access 
to Justice may promulgate such rules, policies, and procedures as may 
be necessary and appropriate to carry out the grant program under this 
Act, including the following:
(1) Establishing competitive grantmaking procedures to 
identify grant recipients.
(2) Targeting grants in a manner that best accomplishes the 
following objectives and priorities:
(A) Advancing a legal services workforce trained 
and equipped to implement an independent legal defense 
for individuals facing deportation that ensures high-
quality, independent legal representation, regardless 
of ability to pay, prior contact with the criminal 
legal system, or the nature or perceived strength of 
their legal defense.
(B) A national legal services infrastructure scaled 
to meet the representation needs of all individuals 
facing deportation.
(C) Long-term growth of organizational or 
programmatic capacity to provide high-quality, 
holistic, and linguistically appropriate legal services 
to individuals facing deportation.
(D) Providing support to State and local 
governments that have taken leadership and developed 
expertise in providing public funding for the legal 
defense of individuals facing deportation.
(E) Addressing the crisis of lack of representation 
in parts of the country where such publicly funded 
programs have not been established.
(b) Independent Implementation.--Except as otherwise provided in 
this Act, the Attorney General, acting through the Director, shall 
exercise the authority under this Act in an independent manner in order 
to advance the primary objective of increasing access to representation 
for individuals facing deportation, and without regard to other 
priorities of the Federal Government related to immigration 
enforcement.

SEC. 6. REPORTS AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

(a) Reports and Evaluations .--For each fiscal year, each grantee 
under this section during that fiscal year shall submit to the Attorney 
General a report on the effectiveness of activities carried out using 
such grant. Each report shall include an evaluation in such form and 
containing such information as the Attorney General may reasonably 
require. The Attorney General shall specify the dates on which such 
reports shall be submitted.
(b) Accountability.--Grants awarded under this Act shall be subject 
to the following accountability provisions:
(1) Audit requirement.--
(A) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term 
``unresolved audit finding'' means a finding in the 
final audit report of the Inspector General of the 
Department of Justice under subparagraph (C) that the 
audited grantee has used grant funds for an 
unauthorized expenditure or otherwise unallowable cost 
that is not closed or resolved within 1 year after the 
date on which 1 final audit report is issued.
(B) Audits.--Beginning in the first fiscal year 
beginning after December 13, 2016, and in each fiscal 
year thereafter, the Inspector General of the 
Department of Justice shall conduct audits of grantees 
under this section to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse 
of funds by grantees. The Inspector General shall 
determine the appropriate number of grantees to be 
audited each year.
(C) Final audit report.--The Inspector General of 
the Department of Justice shall submit to the Attorney 
General a final report on each audit conducted under 
subparagraph (B).
(D) Technical assistance.--A recipient of a grant 
under this section that is found to have an unresolved 
audit finding shall be eligible to receive prompt, 
individualized technical assistance to resolve the 
audit finding and to prevent future findings, for a 
period not to exceed the following 2 fiscal years.
(E) Priority.--In making grants under this section, 
the Attorney General shall give priority to applicants 
that did not have an unresolved audit finding during 
the 3 fiscal years before submitting an application for 
a grant under this section.
(2) Nonprofit agency requirements.--
(A) Definition.--For purposes of this paragraph and 
the grant program under this section, the term 
``nonprofit agency'' means an organization that is 
described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 
501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(B) Prohibition.--The Attorney General may not 
award a grant under this section to a nonprofit agency 
that holds money in an offshore account for the purpose 
of avoiding paying the tax described in section 511(a) 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(C) Disclosure.--Each nonprofit agency that is 
awarded a grant under this section and uses the 
procedures prescribed in regulations to create a 
rebuttable presumption of reasonableness for the 
compensation of its officers, directors, trustees, and 
key employees, shall disclose to the Attorney General, 
in the application for the grant, the process for 
determining such compensation, including the 
independent persons involved in reviewing and approving 
such compensation, the comparability data used, and 
contemporaneous substantiation of the deliberation and 
decision. Upon request, the Attorney General shall make 
the information disclosed under this subparagraph 
available for public inspection.
(3) Conference expenditures.--
(A) Limitation.--Not more than $100,000 of the 
amounts made available to the Department of Justice to 
carry out this section may be used by the Attorney 
General, or by any individual or entity awarded a grant 
under this section to host, or make any expenditures 
relating to, a conference unless the Deputy Attorney 
General provides prior written authorization that the 
funds may be expended to host the conference or make 
such expenditure.
(B) Written approval.--Written approval under 
subparagraph (A) shall include a written estimate of 
all costs associated with the conference, including the 
cost of all food, beverages, audio-visual equipment, 
honoraria for speakers, and entertainment.
(C) Report.--The Deputy Attorney General shall 
submit an annual report to the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives on all 
conference expenditures approved under this paragraph.
(4) Annual certification.--Beginning in the first fiscal 
year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary 
and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 
Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations 
of the House of Representatives an annual certification 
indicating whether all final audit reports issued by the Office 
of the Inspector General under paragraph (1) have been 
completed and reviewed by the appropriate Assistant Attorney 
General or Director.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2027.
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