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1 | AN ACT concerning civil law.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Right | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | to Counsel in Immigration Proceedings Act. | |||||||||||||||||||
6 | Section 5. Purpose; findings. | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | (a) The State is committed to fair and equal treatment of | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | all individuals, and, in particular, of individuals at risk of | |||||||||||||||||||
9 | removal and separation from their families through the federal | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | immigration detention and deportation system. | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | (b) While an individual in removal proceedings has the | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | right to legal representation, the representation is at the | |||||||||||||||||||
13 | individual's own expense and may be beyond the financial | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | capacity of low-income households. | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | (c) Nearly two-thirds of all individuals facing | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | immigration removal proceedings throughout the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | lack legal representation. Among the individuals in | |||||||||||||||||||
18 | immigration detention, only one in 6 individuals were | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | represented by counsel. Among the individuals facing removal | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | proceedings in this State, less than one in 3 individuals, | |||||||||||||||||||
21 | generally, and less than one in 8 individuals in detention | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | were represented by counsel. | |||||||||||||||||||
23 | (d) Legal representation is essential to effective |
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1 | identification and presentation of avenues for release from | ||||||
2 | detention and relief from removal. Individuals in immigration | ||||||
3 | detention are 4 times more likely to win release if | ||||||
4 | represented by legal counsel than individuals without | ||||||
5 | representation by legal counsel. In removal proceedings, | ||||||
6 | detained individuals are 11 times more likely to succeed in | ||||||
7 | claims for relief if represented by legal counsel than | ||||||
8 | individuals without representation by legal counsel. | ||||||
9 | (e) Legal representation in removal proceedings has | ||||||
10 | improved the efficiency of the proceedings and the | ||||||
11 | administration of justice as individuals are better able to | ||||||
12 | present their defenses and claims for relief. | ||||||
13 | (f) It is the public policy of this State that all covered | ||||||
14 | individuals should have the right to ongoing legal | ||||||
15 | representation in covered proceedings. This right to counsel | ||||||
16 | should include provisions of funds sufficient to ensure that | ||||||
17 | legal service providers are funded to: | ||||||
18 | (1) engage support staff, interpretation staff, and | ||||||
19 | investigative staff; | ||||||
20 | (2) contract as reasonably necessary with independent | ||||||
21 | experts, including country conditions experts and forensic | ||||||
22 | medical experts; and | ||||||
23 | (3) contract as reasonably necessary with social | ||||||
24 | service providers providing supportive and rehabilitative | ||||||
25 | services to covered individuals during the course of their | ||||||
26 | removal proceedings. |
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1 | (g) This State should establish a program and a dedicated | ||||||
2 | fund to provide the legal services described in subsection | ||||||
3 | (f). | ||||||
4 | Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act: | ||||||
5 | "Covered individual" means any individual subject to | ||||||
6 | removal proceedings under 8 U.S.C. 1225, 1228, and 1229a or a | ||||||
7 | final order of removal under 8 CFR 1241.1, including any | ||||||
8 | related covered proceeding, regardless of age, who is: (i) a | ||||||
9 | domiciliary of this State; or (ii) an individual who is not a | ||||||
10 | domiciliary of this State if removal proceedings are conducted | ||||||
11 | against the individual in this State. | ||||||
12 | "Covered proceeding" means any proceeding in which a | ||||||
13 | covered individual is a party and is seeking an avenue of | ||||||
14 | relief from removal from the United States or is challenging | ||||||
15 | his or her arrest or detention under the Immigration and | ||||||
16 | Nationality Act and its implementing regulations. "Covered | ||||||
17 | proceeding" includes: | ||||||
18 | (1) a proceeding or hearing in an immigration court | ||||||
19 | and any related application to United States Citizenship | ||||||
20 | and Immigration Services connected to the proceeding or | ||||||
21 | hearing; | ||||||
22 | (2) an immigration proceeding conducted by telephone | ||||||
23 | or video teleconference; | ||||||
24 | (3) a proceeding in a State court for purposes of | ||||||
25 | obtaining a special findings order; |
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1 | (4) a proceeding in a State court for purposes of | ||||||
2 | vacating a conviction or modifying a sentence in which the | ||||||
3 | conviction or sentence is relevant to the immigration | ||||||
4 | proceedings at issue; | ||||||
5 | (5) a credible fear interview or reasonable fear | ||||||
6 | interview; | ||||||
7 | (6) a habeas corpus petition to a federal district | ||||||
8 | court challenging detention under the Immigration and | ||||||
9 | Nationality Act; | ||||||
10 | (7) a motion to reopen or reconsider under 8 U.S.C. | ||||||
11 | 1229a; | ||||||
12 | (8) a petition for review under 8 U.S.C. 1252; | ||||||
13 | (9) a remand to a federal district court from the | ||||||
14 | United States Court of Appeals for fact-finding purposes; | ||||||
15 | and | ||||||
16 | (10) any appeal related to any of the foregoing to the | ||||||
17 | Board of Immigration Appeals, the United States Court of | ||||||
18 | Appeals, or the United States Supreme Court. | ||||||
19 | "Domicile" means a true, fixed, and permanent legal home | ||||||
20 | of an individual or the place to which the individual intends | ||||||
21 | to return even though the individual may reside elsewhere. | ||||||
22 | "Domiciliary" means an individual who has established a | ||||||
23 | domicile with respect to a particular jurisdiction. | ||||||
24 | "Immigration court" means a tribunal of the Executive | ||||||
25 | Office for Immigration Review, or a successor entity, tasked | ||||||
26 | with deciding the inadmissibility or deportability of a |
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1 | noncitizen of the United States that is presided over by an | ||||||
2 | immigration judge as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(4). | ||||||
3 | "Legal services" means individual legal assistance in a | ||||||
4 | single consultation, or ongoing legal representation, provided | ||||||
5 | by a legal services provider to a covered individual, and all | ||||||
6 | legal advice, advocacy, and assistance associated with the | ||||||
7 | service. | ||||||
8 | "Legal services provider" means an individual, | ||||||
9 | organization, or association that has the authority to provide | ||||||
10 | legal services. | ||||||
11 | Section 15. Task Force on Counsel in Immigration | ||||||
12 | Proceedings. | ||||||
13 | (a) The Task Force on Counsel in Immigration Proceedings | ||||||
14 | is established. | ||||||
15 | (b) The Task Force shall consist of 7 members appointed by | ||||||
16 | the Governor, in consultation with the President of the | ||||||
17 | Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the | ||||||
18 | Attorney General, and the Secretary of Human Services. | ||||||
19 | (c) Members of the Task Force shall serve without | ||||||
20 | compensation. | ||||||
21 | (d) The Department of Human Services shall provide | ||||||
22 | administrative and other support to the Task Force. | ||||||
23 | (e) The Task Force shall investigate the implementation of | ||||||
24 | universal representation for covered individuals in | ||||||
25 | immigration removal proceedings as described in subsection (f) |
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1 | of Section 5. The Task Force investigation shall include, but | ||||||
2 | is not limited to, the following matters: | ||||||
3 | (1) the estimated number of covered individuals facing | ||||||
4 | a covered proceeding; | ||||||
5 | (2) the current infrastructure for providing | ||||||
6 | independent, competent, and zealous legal representation | ||||||
7 | in a covered proceeding; | ||||||
8 | (3) the additional resources, including salaries and | ||||||
9 | benefits for attorneys and support staff, training, | ||||||
10 | supervision, and material resources that would need to be | ||||||
11 | added to the existing infrastructure described in | ||||||
12 | paragraph (2) in order to provide independent, competent, | ||||||
13 | and zealous legal representation for the number of covered | ||||||
14 | individuals described in paragraph (1), including | ||||||
15 | mechanisms for subcontracted relationships with | ||||||
16 | independent experts and social service providers; | ||||||
17 | (4) the estimated annual cost of the additional | ||||||
18 | resources described in paragraph (3);
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19 | (5) funding sources, public and private, that are or | ||||||
20 | would be available to pay for the additional resources | ||||||
21 | described in paragraph (3); and | ||||||
22 | (6) the estimated annual cost of bond payment support | ||||||
23 | needed for covered individuals facing a covered | ||||||
24 | proceeding, and the feasibility of a State-sponsored bond | ||||||
25 | fund for those individuals. | ||||||
26 | (f) In order for the Governor and General Assembly to |
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1 | evaluate different scopes of legal representation in | ||||||
2 | immigration court proceedings, the Task Force investigation | ||||||
3 | described in subsection (e) shall provide additional findings | ||||||
4 | in the following categories: | ||||||
5 | (1) State domiciliary versus non-State domiciliary | ||||||
6 | covered individuals, and, among the State domiciliary | ||||||
7 | covered individuals, the regions of residence within the | ||||||
8 | State; | ||||||
9 | (2) household income above and below 250% of the | ||||||
10 | federal poverty line; | ||||||
11 | (3) type of proceedings in which the covered | ||||||
12 | individuals need legal representation; and | ||||||
13 | (4) current percentages of covered individuals in | ||||||
14 | covered proceedings with and without legal representation. | ||||||
15 | (g) The Task Force shall submit a report of its findings in | ||||||
16 | the investigation described in subsection (e) and its | ||||||
17 | recommendations for how to fully provide legal representation | ||||||
18 | for covered individuals facing covered proceedings no later | ||||||
19 | than July 1, 2022. | ||||||
20 | Section 20. Repeal. This Act is repealed on July 1, 2023.
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21 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
22 | becoming law.
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