[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5581 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 332
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5581
[Report No. 116-412, Part I]
To clarify the rights of all persons who are held or detained at a port
of entry or at any detention facility overseen by U.S. Customs and
Border Protection or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 10, 2020
Ms. Jayapal (for herself, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Judy Chu of
California, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Deutch, Ms. Norton, Mr. Johnson
of Georgia, Mr. Kilmer, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Quigley, Mr.
Raskin, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Rush, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Schiff, Mr.
Schneider, Mr. Smith of Washington, Mr. Swalwell of California, Mrs.
Watson Coleman, and Ms. Wasserman Schultz) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in
addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
March 5, 2020
Additional sponsors: Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr.
Blumenauer, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Connolly, Mrs.
Napolitano, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Khanna, Mr.
Engel, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Levin of Michigan, Mr. Kildee, Mr.
Gallego, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Ted
Lieu of California, Mr. Correa, Mr. Lewis, Ms. DeLauro, Ms. Scanlon,
Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mrs. Murphy of Florida, Mr. Lowenthal, and Mr.
Kennedy
March 5, 2020
Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
March 5, 2020
Committee on Homeland Security discharged; committed to the Committee
of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January
10, 2020]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To clarify the rights of all persons who are held or detained at a port
of entry or at any detention facility overseen by U.S. Customs and
Border Protection or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Access to Counsel Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. ACCESS TO COUNSEL AND OTHER ASSISTANCE AT PORTS OF ENTRY AND
DEFERRED INSPECTION.
(a) Access to Counsel and Other Assistance During Inspection.--
Section 235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Access to Counsel and Other Assistance During Inspection.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
ensure that a covered individual has a meaningful opportunity
to consult with counsel and an interested party during the
inspection process.
``(2) Scope of assistance.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security shall--
``(A) provide the covered individual a meaningful
opportunity to consult with counsel and an interested
party not later than one hour after the secondary
inspection process commences and as necessary
throughout the inspection process, including, as
applicable, during deferred inspection;
``(B) allow counsel and an interested party to
advocate on behalf of the covered individual, including
by providing to the examining immigration officer
information, documentation, and other evidence in
support of the covered individual; and
``(C) to the greatest extent practicable,
accommodate a request by the covered individual for
counsel or an interested party to appear in-person at
the secondary or deferred inspection site.
``(3) Special rule for lawful permanent residents.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security may not accept Form I-407 Record of
Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status (or a
successor form) from a lawful permanent resident
subject to secondary or deferred inspection without
providing such lawful permanent resident a reasonable
opportunity to seek advice from counsel prior to the
submission of the form.
``(B) Exception.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security may accept Form I-407 Record of Abandonment of
Lawful Permanent Resident Status (or a successor form)
from a lawful permanent resident subject to secondary
or deferred inspection if such lawful permanent
resident knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily
waives, in writing, the opportunity to seek advice from
counsel.
``(4) Definitions.--In this section:
``(A) Counsel.--The term `counsel' means--
``(i) an attorney who is a member in good
standing of the bar of any State, the District
of Columbia, or a territory or a possession of
the United States and is not under an order
suspending, enjoining, restraining, disbarring,
or otherwise restricting the attorney in the
practice of law; or
``(ii) an individual accredited by the
Attorney General, acting as a representative of
an organization recognized by the Executive
Office for Immigration Review, to represent a
covered individual in immigration matters.
``(B) Covered individual.--The term `covered
individual' means an individual subject to secondary or
deferred inspection who is--
``(i) a national of the United States;
``(ii) an immigrant, lawfully admitted for
permanent residence, who is returning from a
temporary visit abroad;
``(iii) an alien seeking admission as an
immigrant in possession of a valid unexpired
immigrant visa;
``(iv) an alien seeking admission as a non-
immigrant in possession of a valid unexpired
non-immigrant visa;
``(v) a refugee; or
``(vi) an alien who has been approved for
parole under section 212(d)(5)(A), including an
alien who is returning to the United States in
possession of a valid advance parole document.
``(C) Interested party.--The term `interested
party' means--
``(i) a relative of the covered individual;
``(ii) in the case of a covered individual
to whom an immigrant or non-immigrant visa has
been issued, the petitioner or sponsor thereof
(including an agent of such petitioner or
sponsor); or
``(iii) a person, organization, or entity
in the United States with a bona fide
connection to the covered individual.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall
take effect 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this Act, or in any amendment
made by this Act, may be construed to limit a right to counsel or any
right to appointed counsel under--
(1) section 240(b)(4)(A) (8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(4)(A)),
(2) section 292 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1362), or
(3) any other provision of law, including any final court
order securing such rights,
as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act.
Union Calendar No. 332
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5581
[Report No. 116-412, Part I]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To clarify the rights of all persons who are held or detained at a port
of entry or at any detention facility overseen by U.S. Customs and
Border Protection or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
_______________________________________________________________________
March 5, 2020
Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment
March 5, 2020
Committee on Homeland Security discharged; committed to the Committee
of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed