S. 4142 — SHIELD Act

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act: (1) "individual facing removal" as an individual in a proceeding under specified sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225(b), 1228, 1229a, or 1231(a)(5)); (2) "service area" as the jurisdiction or geographical area in which an entity carries out activities using awarded funds; (3) "State" as each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; and (4) "unit of local government" as defined in 34 U.S.C. 10251(a)(3).

This section establishes a competitive grant program, administered by the Attorney General through the Director of the Office for Access to Justice, to award workforce development and capacity-building grants to eligible entities seeking to expand access to legal representation for individuals facing removal proceedings. Eligible entities are (1) states or units of local government that allocate public funds for immigration-related legal services (including representation, assistance, and community navigation); (2) community-based organizations, nonprofits, or educational institutions providing or coordinating such services; or (3) those recruiting, training, or mentoring immigration legal services providers. Grant funds may be used to (1) recruit and train workforce such as lawyers, accredited representatives, social workers, and navigators; (2) provide technical assistance including skills-based and language trainings, specialized legal support, and leadership development; (3) coordinate local or regional services; (4) improve retention through caseload management and anti-burnout strategies; (5) recruit diverse staff; (6) expand infrastructure in high-need areas with below-average services; and (7) acquire physical, administrative, and technological resources. Grantees may use funds for contracts or subawards to other organizations or local governments; must certify permissible uses and submit annual reports detailing services, recruitment impacts, expenditures, outcomes, and unmet needs; and receive grants for a 4-year term, renewable. Federal funds must supplement, not supplant, other available funds.

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

This section requires each grantee to submit to the Attorney General, for each fiscal year, a report evaluating the effectiveness of grant-funded activities in a form and on dates specified by the Attorney General. The section subjects grants to accountability provisions that (1) define an unresolved audit finding and require the Department of Justice Inspector General to audit grantees beginning in the first fiscal year after December 13, 2016, and annually thereafter; provide such grantees with technical assistance for up to two fiscal years; and direct the Attorney General to prioritize grant applicants without unresolved findings in the prior three fiscal years; (2) prohibit grants to nonprofit agencies (i.e., 501(c)(3) organizations) holding funds offshore to evade taxes under IRC §511(a) and require disclosure of processes for determining officer compensation; (3) limit conference expenditures to $100,000 without prior written Deputy Attorney General approval, including cost estimates, with annual reporting to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees; and (4) require the Attorney General to submit an annual certification, beginning in the first fiscal year after enactment, to the Senate and House Judiciary and Appropriations Committees confirming review of all Inspector General audit reports.

This section states that nothing in this Act may be construed to limit a respondent's right to obtain counsel at no expense to the government pursuant to INA sections 240(b)(4) and 292 (8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(4), 1362).