S.744 Immigration bill - Sec. 3502: IMPROVING IMMIGRATION COURT EFFICIENCY AND REDUCING COSTS BY INCREASING ACCESS TO LEGAL INFORMATION

    (a) Clarification Regarding the Authority of the Attorney General to Appoint Counsel to Aliens in Immigration Proceedings- Section 292 (8 U.S.C. 1362) is amended--

      (1) by inserting `(a)' before `In any';

      (2) by striking `(at no expense to the Government)';

      (3) by striking `he shall' and inserting `the person shall'; and

      (4) by adding at the end the following:

    `(b) The Government is not required to provide counsel to aliens under subsection (a). However, the Attorney General may, in the Attorney General's sole and unreviewable discretion, appoint or provide counsel to aliens in immigration proceedings conducted under section 240 of this Act.'.

    (b) Appointment of Counsel in Certain Cases- Section 240(b)(4) (8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(4)) is amended--

      (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking `, at no expense to the Government,'; and

      (2) by adding at the end the following: `The Government is not required to provide counsel to aliens under this paragraph. However, the Attorney General may, in the Attorney General's sole and unreviewable discretion, appoint or provide counsel at government expense to aliens in immigration proceedings.'.

    (c) Appointment of Counsel for Unaccompanied Alien Children and Aliens With a Serious Mental Disability- Section 292 (8 U.S.C. 1362), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the end the following:

    `(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b), the Attorney General shall appoint counsel, at the expense of the Government, if necessary, to represent an alien in a removal proceeding who has been determined by the Secretary to be an unaccompanied alien child, is incompetent to represent himself or herself due to a serious mental disability that would be included in section 3(2) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102(2)), or is considered particularly vulnerable when compared to other aliens in removal proceedings, such that the appointment of counsel is necessary to help ensure fair resolution and efficient adjudication of the proceedings.'.

    (d) Funding- There shall be appropriated, from the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Trust Fund established under section 6(a)(1), such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section and the amendments made by this section.

3502
IMPROVING IMMIGRATION COURT EFFICIENCY AND REDUCING COSTS BY INCREASING ACCESS TO LEGAL INFORMATION