Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2021
Latest action · Oct 28, 2021 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S7463)
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedOct 28, 2021
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2021
This bill provides legal protections for a noncitizen (i.e., an individual referred to as an alien in federal law) who is detained or subject to immigration-related proceedings.
The Department of Justice (DOJ), or the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in a case involving an unaccompanied child, may appoint or provide counsel at the government's expense to noncitizens in removal proceedings and related appeals.
An unaccompanied child must be represented by counsel paid for and appointed by the government at every stage of such proceedings unless the child has obtained counsel at their own expense. If HHS fails to provide counsel to an unaccompanied child, the deadline for filing a motion to reopen a proceeding shall not apply, and the filing of such a motion shall stay the child's removal from the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must provide a complete copy of a noncitizen's immigration file to the noncitizen (or the noncitizen's counsel) within seven days of a notice to appear for an immigration proceeding, and failure to provide the file shall result in a delay in the proceeding.
DHS must provide access to counsel for all detained noncitizens.
The bill authorizes HHS to enter into contacts or award grants for providing immigration-related legal services to children. The Office of Refugee Resettlement must develop model guidelines for representing noncitizen children in immigration proceedings.
Cosponsors 30
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Oct 28, 2021 to Mar 8, 2022; 25 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Alex Padilla | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-NV | Catherine Cortez Masto | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-NV | Jacky Rosen | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-CO | John W. Hickenlooper | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-NM | Martin Heinrich | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-MN | Tina Smith | Original | Oct 28, 2021 |
| D-NM | Ben Ray Luján | Nov 3, 2021 | |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Nov 18, 2021 | |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Dec 15, 2021 | |
| D-GA | Jon Ossoff | Mar 8, 2022 | |
| D-IL | Tammy Duckworth | Mar 8, 2022 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Judiciary Committee | Referred Oct 28, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 28, 2021Introduced in Senate
- Oct 28, 2021Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S7463)
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S7463 | Mazie K. Hirono D-HI | Oct 28, 2021 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to provide counsel for unaccompanied children, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Fair Day in Court for Kids Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 28, 2021Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
