H.R. 9304 · 117th Congress

Funding Attorneys for Indigent Removal (FAIR) Proceedings Act

Introduced on Nov 15, 2022 by A. Donald McEachin (D-VA-4). 9 cosponsors, all from the sponsor's party. Latest action (Nov 15, 2022): Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Stage
Introduced
Introduced
Nov 15, 2022
Cosponsors
9
0 from the other party
Policy area
Immigration
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. 2Reported by committee
  3. 3Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

Official title

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide access to counsel for children and other vulnerable populations, and for other purposes.

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Introduced in House, Nov 15, 2022). Public domain.

Funding Attorneys for Indigent Removal (FAIR) Proceedings Act

This bill expands access to counsel for non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) in immigration proceedings and provides protections related to such proceedings.

Such an individual shall have the privilege of being represented by counsel in any immigration proceeding, whereas currently this privilege is statutorily provided for only in removal proceedings.

Similarly, the Department of Justice (DOJ) may provide counsel at government expense to individuals in any immigration proceeding, whereas currently DOJ is statutorily authorized to provide counsel only for removal proceedings and at no expense to the government.

Under this bill, DOJ shall provide counsel to children and vulnerable individuals in such proceedings, at government expense if necessary. If DOJ fails to do so, certain limits on filing a motion to reopen removal proceedings (such as the time limit for filing) shall not apply, and the individual's removal shall be stayed upon the motion's filing.

The bill establishes the Immigration Counsel Account to be used to provide counsel under this bill. A portion of certain immigration fees shall be deposited into the account.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall provide each individual, generally at the beginning of proceedings, a complete copy of the individual's case file in DHS possession, unless the individual waives this right in writing. Failure to provide such documents shall delay the individual's removal proceeding.

DHS shall facilitate for all detained individuals access to counsel and programs that inform such individuals of their immigration-related rights and obligations.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

A. Donald McEachinD-VA-4Sponsor

Democrats · 9

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

No recorded roll call on this measure: it moved by voice vote or unanimous consent, or has not reached the floor.

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Nov 15, 2022Introduced in House
  2. Nov 15, 2022Introduced in House
  3. Nov 15, 2022 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 10, 2026 · loaded Oct 10, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 10, 2026 · loaded Oct 10, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.