Sponsors (23)
Requires government-funded counsel access and expedited A-file disclosure for noncitizens, empowers HHS to provide counsel to unaccompanied children, and authorizes ORR funding to implement these changes.
Official title: To provide counsel for unaccompanied children, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 11, 2026 by Zoe Lofgren · Last progress June 11, 2026
The bill substantially expands legal protections, counsel access, and transparency for noncitizens—especially unaccompanied children—improving fairness but increasing federal spending, operational burdens, and the risk of delays and legal complexity.
Noncitizen detainees and unaccompanied children will get government-funded or guaranteed access to legal counsel in removal proceedings, improving fairness, reducing erroneous removals, and (potentially) shortening repeated proceedings.
Noncitizens (and their counsel) will receive timely case materials (DHS A‑files) with a minimum 10‑day review period before proceedings, giving respondents a concrete opportunity to prepare defense and seek counsel.
Unaccompanied children who were entitled to appointed counsel but did not receive it can file motions to reopen without time limits and such filings automatically stay removal, preserving their ability to obtain relief and preventing immediate deportation while cases are reconsidered.
All taxpayers and federal budgets will face materially higher costs because the federal government must fund counsel for detained noncitizens/unaccompanied children and support expanded agency duties, and the bill's open-ended funding language can reduce congressional spending oversight.
Immigration courts, DHS, and enforcement systems may face significant delays and increased backlogs because of new procedural requirements (A‑file delivery, mandatory review periods, motions to reopen), slowing removals and increasing adjudication workloads.
Implementing universal counsel access across ICE/CBP facilities and ORR appointment duties risks operational and capacity strains—creating logistical challenges, uneven service quality, and reliance on stretched or inexperienced providers if funding/standards are insufficient.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Requires government-funded access to lawyers for noncitizens in immigration detention and proceedings, expands and clarifies definitions replacing “alien” with “noncitizen,” and creates timelines and disclosure rules for immigration case files. Gives HHS authority to appoint or provide counsel for unaccompanied children, pauses removal proceedings in some cases where counsel was not provided, mandates annual HHS reporting on representation of unaccompanied children, and authorizes ORR to receive “such sums as may be necessary” to implement the law.