Sense of Congress

It is the sense of Congress that— (1) individuals in civil immigration detention require access to counsel to address their legal needs and their ability to maintain ties with family and loved ones; (2) while existing communication options in detention are helpful, they do not adequately address the needs of detainees, including detainees who are indigent or seeking legal representation; (3) in April 2020, the Trump administration instituted a program in which detained individuals were provided up to 520 free minutes of telephone service per month to maintain contact with families and legal representatives during the COVID–19 public health emergency, but that program was halted during 2024 due to a lack of funding; (4) since U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement received additional funding under section 100052 of Public Law 119–21 (commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), a portion of such funding should be reserved for restoring the free telephone service program for detainees to more conveniently maintain contact with families and legal representatives.