Sen. Markey Introduces SHIELD Act to Provide $100 Million for Deportation Legal Defense
A bill to authorize the Attorney General to provide grants to States, units of local government, and organizations to support the recruitment, training, and development of staff and infrastructure needed to support the due process rights of individuals facing removal.
This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process after being introduced in the Senate. It has been sent to the Committee on the Judiciary for review, where it is currently waiting for further action. There are no upcoming votes scheduled at this time.
Legislative Progress
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Key Points
The SHIELD Act creates a new federal grant program through the Department of Justice that would give $100 million per year to states, local governments, and nonprofits to help people facing deportation get legal representation.
From policy text
“There is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Justice to carry out this Act $100,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2026 through 2027.”
Grant money would fund hiring and training more immigration lawyers, accredited representatives, social workers, and community navigators, along with language training and technology upgrades to improve the quality and reach of legal services.
From policy text
“workforce recruitment and training programs, such as educational, fellowship, clinical, job recruitment, and job training services aimed at increasing the number of lawyers, accredited representatives, social workers, and community navigators entering the immigration legal services field”
The program is designed to operate independently from immigration enforcement priorities, focusing solely on expanding access to legal defense for people in removal proceedings regardless of their ability to pay or criminal history.
From policy text
“the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Office for Access to Justice, shall exercise the authority under this Act in an independent manner in order to advance the primary objective of increasing access to representation for individuals facing removal, and without regard to other priorities of the Federal Government related to immigration enforcement.”
Grants would last four years and come with strict accountability requirements including annual audits by the DOJ Inspector General, annual reports to Congress, and prohibitions on misuse of funds such as offshore accounts to avoid taxes.
From policy text
“The term of a grant under this section shall be 4 years, which may be renewed.”
The bill specifically targets areas of the country where publicly funded legal representation programs don't exist, aiming to close the gap between regions with robust legal services and those with almost none.
From policy text
“growing legal services infrastructure and representational capacity in locations with a significant unmet need for legal representation and with significantly less immigration-related legal services capacity in their service area than national averages”
A bill to authorize the Attorney General to provide grants to States, units of local government, and organizations to support the recruitment, training, and development of staff and infrastructure needed to support the due process rights of individuals facing removal.
Bill NumberS 4142
Congress119th Congress
ChamberSenate
Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
