SHIELD Act Funds $200 Million to Hire Lawyers for Immigrants Facing Deportation in FY 2026-2027

The Securing Help for Immigrants through Education and Legal Development Act, or the SHIELD Act, sets up a new federal grant program to tackle a massive problem: the huge number of people facing deportation without legal representation. Starting in Fiscal Year 2026, the bill authorizes $100 million annually for two years—a total of $200 million—to fund legal services for individuals in removal proceedings. This money isn't for direct services alone; it’s specifically meant to build up the entire legal defense system, from hiring staff to improving technology, so that high-quality legal help is available nationwide.

The Problem: Fighting the Government Alone

Congress is pretty direct about the core issue in Section 3: unlike in criminal court, there is no right to a free lawyer in immigration court. The bill notes that about 80% of detained immigrants over the last 20 years have gone up against government attorneys by themselves. This is a huge deal because having a lawyer makes a profound difference. The bill cites studies showing that represented immigrants are 3.5 times more likely to get released on bond and up to 10.5 times more likely to win their case. The SHIELD Act is essentially Congress acknowledging that this lack of representation creates an unfair system that local and state efforts, while great, simply can't fix on their own.

Building a Legal Defense Workforce

The heart of the SHIELD Act is Section 4, which establishes a competitive grant program run by the Attorney General’s Office of Access to Justice. This program isn't a simple handout; it's a strategic investment in infrastructure. Grants will go to state and local governments already funding deportation defense, as well as to non-profits and schools that provide services or train future legal staff.

Think of this as a major HR push for the immigration legal field. Grant money can be used to fund fellowships, job training, and clinical opportunities to bring in more lawyers, social workers, and community navigators. It also funds specialized training on complex cases and language training, ensuring the help is both high-quality and culturally appropriate. For a community-based legal aid office, this means finally being able to hire that second or third attorney and the support staff needed to manage heavy caseloads without burning out the team.

Accountability and the Fine Print

While the goal is noble, the bill includes strong guardrails on how the money is spent (Section 6). Any organization receiving a grant must report back to the Attorney General annually on exactly how many people they hired, how many clients they represented, and the outcomes of those cases. Furthermore, the Department of Justice Inspector General is mandated to audit grant recipients every year to catch waste or fraud. If an organization has an “unresolved audit finding” for a year—meaning they spent money improperly and haven't fixed it—they can lose priority for future funding. The bill also explicitly requires the Attorney General to run this program independently, focusing solely on increasing legal access without letting broader immigration enforcement priorities influence who gets the grants (Section 5). This is a crucial, if potentially difficult, separation of powers to maintain, ensuring the program focuses purely on defense, not enforcement.