EOIR Legal Access, Orientation, and Representation Services

I. Objective

The objective of this pre-solicitation notice is to inform the vendor community that the U.S. Department of Justice intends to release a solicitation in support of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).  EOIR has a requirement for the following non-personal services for individuals who are, or may be, placed in immigration proceedings and appear before the EOIR Immigration Court and the Board of Immigration Appeals: (a) legal orientation programs for detained adults and for the custodians of unaccompanied children; (b) direct representation programs for certain children and detained adults; (c) immigration court helpdesk programs for non-detained individuals; and (d) other legal access, orientation, and representation programs.  Using negotiated procedures authorized in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15, the Department intends to establish a single-award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for the program services.

II. Background  

EOIR administers and interprets federal immigration laws and regulations through the conduct of immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings in individual cases.  EOIR carries out these responsibilities through its three main components: (1) The Office of the Chief Immigration Judge, which oversees all the Immigration Courts and their proceedings throughout the United States; (2) The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), which hears appeals of decisions made in individual cases by Immigration Judges, District Directors of the Department of Homeland Security, or other immigration officials; and, (3) The Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer, which resolves cases concerning employer sanctions, document fraud, and immigration-related employment discrimination.  EOIR is presently carrying out legal orientation programs (LOP) at some 40 sites and providing coverage to additional sites through a nationwide telephonic information line, and is carrying out the Legal Orientation Program for Custodians of Unaccompanied Children (LOPC) at some 15 locations nationwide, in addition to operating a LOPC National Call Center and Call Center – West to assist in making appointments for custodians at one of the LOPC provider locations, and to provide telephonic assistance to custodians who live outside the geographic areas in which LOPC is currently available.  For mentally incompetent detained noncitizens, EOIR is currently carrying out the National Qualified Representative Program, which provides qualified representatives, on a national scale, to certain unrepresented and detained respondents whom an Immigration Judge or the BIA find to be mentally incompetent to represent themselves in immigration proceedings.  EOIR is also operating the Immigration Court Helpdesk (ICH) program.  The primary purpose of the ICH program is to orient non-detained noncitizens on the removal hearing process and to inform them about possible legal remedies and resources prior to or on the day of their removal hearings before the immigration court.  ICH services include in-person information sessions, group information sessions, self-help assistance to individuals without counsel, and information on available pro bono resources to unrepresented individuals.  The ICH program is currently operational in seventeen immigration courts, with further plans to expand to additional courts and facilities in the future.   EOIR launched the Family Group Legal Orientation Program (FGLOP).  The purpose of the FGLOP is to provide legal orientation services to family groups with cases scheduled on EOIR’s “Dedicated Dockets” in designated cities, with participants receiving information about various agencies’ practices and procedures, and available legal options.  EOIR also launched the Counsel for Children Initiative, which works to provide legal representation to certain children who are in immigration proceeding in eleven immigration court jurisdictions: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, New York, New Orleans, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland.  It is anticipated that a single-award IDIQ contract for legal access, orientation, and representation services will be awarded with an ordering period of a base year with four one-year options.  The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541199, All Other Legal Services, with a size standard of $12.0 million.   

III. General Information

The solicitation and any documents relating to this requirement will be available only on the Contracting Opportunities website, www.sam.gov.  Potential offerors are responsible for monitoring this site for the release of the solicitation and any subsequent amendments.  Offerors should not contact the Department for updates and rather are encouraged to sign-up, on the Contracting Opportunities website, for email notification of all actions relevant to this solicitation, as well as on the interested vendors list.  The solicitation is anticipated to be released on or around March 16, 2022.  Once the solicitation is released, offerors will be given an opportunity to ask questions and answers will be posted to the Contracting Opportunities website.  Offerors who are not registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) should apply for registration immediately upon receipt of this pre-solicitation notice.  Failure to being registered in the SAM at the time of your proposal submission in accordance with FAR 52.204-7 will cause your proposal to be rejected.  See www.sam.gov for information on registration. 

IV. Disclaimer and Important Notes

The posting of this pre-solicitation notice is for vendor planning purposes only.  This pre-solicitation notice in no way obligates the Department to issue a solicitation.  The Department does not guarantee the issuance of a solicitation nor that the information contained in this pre-solicitation notice will remain unchanged upon issuance of a solicitation.