H.R. 3101 — SHIELD Act

This section establishes definitions for four terms used in the Act: (1) service area as the jurisdiction or geographical area in which an entity carries out activities using funds awarded under the Act; (2) State to mean each of the 50 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 as defined in 34 U.S.C. 10251(a)(3) (i.e., certain cities, counties, law enforcement districts, Indian tribes, and federal or DC agencies performing law enforcement functions); and (4) individual facing deportation as an individual in a proceeding under specified sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act (i.e., INA §§212(d)(5)(A), 235(b)(1)(B), 236, 238, 240, or 241).

This section expresses the sense of Congress that individuals facing immigration detention and deportation lack a right to government-funded legal representation—unlike in criminal proceedings—including children, resulting in approximately 80% of detained individuals over the past 20 years being unrepresented. It further states that representation improves outcomes (e.g., detained immigrants with attorneys are 3.5 times more likely to win bond and up to 10.5 times more likely to obtain relief from deportation; nondetained individuals with lawyers win 60% of cases versus 17% without); highlights the system's disproportionate impact on Black immigrants; recognizes local and state efforts (over 55 jurisdictions, including 10 states, since 2013); and calls for federal action via the Fairness to Freedom Act of 2023 to provide universal federally funded representation, build legal infrastructure, and increase assistance in federal administrative proceedings as recommended in the Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable's 2023 report.

This section establishes a competitive grant program administered by the Attorney General, through the Director of the Office of Access to Justice, to award workforce development and capacity-building grants to eligible entities expanding access to legal representation for individuals facing deportation. Eligible entities are (1) states or units of local government allocating public funds for immigration-related legal services (i.e., representation, assistance, community navigation), (2) community-based organizations, nonprofits, or educational institutions providing or coordinating such services, or (3) those recruiting, training, or mentoring service providers. Grant funds support (1) workforce recruitment and training (e.g., for lawyers, accredited representatives, social workers, navigators); (2) technical assistance (e.g., skills trainings, language programs, specialized support, leadership development); (3) local or regional coordination; (4) retention strategies addressing caseloads, burnout, and systems; (5) recruiting diverse legal staff; (6) infrastructure growth in high-need, low-capacity areas; and (7) physical, administrative, and technological resources. Recipients may contract or subaward funds and must certify uses, submit annual reports within 90 days after each fiscal year detailing services, recruitment/retention impacts, expenditures, outcomes, and unmet needs, with grants lasting 4 years and renewable; federal funds must supplement, not supplant, other funds.

This section directs the Director of the Office of Access to Justice to promulgate rules, policies, and procedures necessary to carry out the grant program, including (1) establishing competitive grantmaking procedures and (2) targeting grants to priorities such as advancing a legal services workforce for independent deportation defense (regardless of ability to pay, criminal history, or case strength), building a national infrastructure to meet representation needs, growing long-term organizational capacity for holistic and linguistically appropriate services, supporting state and local governments providing public funding for such defense, and addressing areas lacking such programs. It further requires the Attorney General, acting through the Director, to implement the Act independently to increase access to representation for individuals facing deportation, without regard to other federal immigration enforcement priorities.

This section establishes reporting and accountability requirements for grantees under this Act. Specifically, it (1) requires each grantee to submit an annual report to the Attorney General evaluating the effectiveness of grant-funded activities, with content and due dates specified by the Attorney General; (2) mandates audits by the Department of Justice Inspector General (IG) beginning in the first fiscal year after December 13, 2016, and annually thereafter—including submission of final audit reports to the Attorney General, technical assistance for grantees with unresolved audit findings (i.e., unauthorized expenditures unresolved within one year) for up to two fiscal years, and grant priority for applicants without such findings in the prior three fiscal years; (3) prohibits grants to nonprofit agencies holding funds in offshore accounts to evade unrelated business income tax and requires disclosure of their officer compensation determination processes; (4) limits conference expenditures to $100,000 without prior written approval from the Deputy Attorney General (including a cost estimate), with an annual report on approvals to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees; and (5) requires the Attorney General to submit an annual certification to the Senate and House Judiciary and Appropriations Committees confirming review of all IG final audit reports.