Full Text of HB0025 102nd General Assembly
HB0025eng 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HB0025 Engrossed | | LRB102 02740 LNS 12743 b |
|
| 1 | | AN ACT concerning civil law.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 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 |
| | | HB0025 Engrossed | - 2 - | LRB102 02740 LNS 12743 b |
|
| 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. |
| | | HB0025 Engrossed | - 3 - | LRB102 02740 LNS 12743 b |
|
| 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; |
| | | HB0025 Engrossed | - 4 - | LRB102 02740 LNS 12743 b |
|
| 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 |
| | | HB0025 Engrossed | - 5 - | LRB102 02740 LNS 12743 b |
|
| 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 the following 7 | 16 | | members: | 17 | | (1) the Governor, or his or her designee; | 18 | | (2) the President of the Senate, or his or her | 19 | | designee; | 20 | | (3) the Minority Leader of the Senate, or his or her | 21 | | designee; | 22 | | (4) the Speaker of the House of Representatives, or | 23 | | his or her designee; | 24 | | (5) the Minority Leader of the House of | 25 | | Representatives, or his or her designee; |
| | | HB0025 Engrossed | - 6 - | LRB102 02740 LNS 12743 b |
|
| 1 | | (6) the Attorney General, or his or her designee; and | 2 | | (7) the Secretary of Human Services, or his or her | 3 | | designee. | 4 | | (c) Members of the Task Force shall serve without | 5 | | compensation. | 6 | | (d) The Department of Human Services shall provide | 7 | | administrative and other support to the Task Force. | 8 | | (e) The Task Force shall investigate the implementation of | 9 | | universal representation for covered individuals in | 10 | | immigration removal proceedings as described in subsection (f) | 11 | | of Section 5. The Task Force investigation shall include, but | 12 | | is not limited to, the following matters: | 13 | | (1) the estimated number of covered individuals facing | 14 | | a covered proceeding; | 15 | | (2) the current infrastructure for providing | 16 | | independent, competent, and zealous legal representation | 17 | | in a covered proceeding; | 18 | | (3) the additional resources, including salaries and | 19 | | benefits for attorneys and support staff, training, | 20 | | supervision, and material resources that would need to be | 21 | | added to the existing infrastructure described in | 22 | | paragraph (2) in order to provide independent, competent, | 23 | | and zealous legal representation for the number of covered | 24 | | individuals described in paragraph (1), including | 25 | | mechanisms for subcontracted relationships with | 26 | | independent experts and social service providers; |
| | | HB0025 Engrossed | - 7 - | LRB102 02740 LNS 12743 b |
|
| 1 | | (4) the estimated annual cost of the additional | 2 | | resources described in paragraph (3);
| 3 | | (5) funding sources, public and private, that are or | 4 | | would be available to pay for the additional resources | 5 | | described in paragraph (3); and | 6 | | (6) the estimated annual cost of bond payment support | 7 | | needed for covered individuals facing a covered | 8 | | proceeding, and the feasibility of a State-sponsored bond | 9 | | fund for those individuals. | 10 | | (f) In order for the Governor and General Assembly to | 11 | | evaluate different scopes of legal representation in | 12 | | immigration court proceedings, the Task Force investigation | 13 | | described in subsection (e) shall provide additional findings | 14 | | in the following categories: | 15 | | (1) State domiciliary versus non-State domiciliary | 16 | | covered individuals, and, among the State domiciliary | 17 | | covered individuals, the regions of residence within the | 18 | | State; | 19 | | (2) household income above and below 250% of the | 20 | | federal poverty line; | 21 | | (3) type of proceedings in which the covered | 22 | | individuals need legal representation; and | 23 | | (4) current percentages of covered individuals in | 24 | | covered proceedings with and without legal representation. | 25 | | (g) The Task Force shall submit a report of its findings in | 26 | | the investigation described in subsection (e) and its |
| | | HB0025 Engrossed | - 8 - | LRB102 02740 LNS 12743 b |
|
| 1 | | recommendations for how to fully provide legal representation | 2 | | for covered individuals facing covered proceedings no later | 3 | | than July 1, 2022. | 4 | | Section 20. Repeal. This Act is repealed on July 1, 2023.
| 5 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 6 | | becoming law.
|
|