[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 391 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 391
To clarify the rights of certain persons who are held or detained at a
port of entry or at any facility overseen by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 4, 2025
Mr. Padilla (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Coons, Ms.
Cortez Masto, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Hickenlooper, Ms. Hirono,
Mr. Markey, Mrs. Murray, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Schiff, Ms. Warren, and Mr.
Welch) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To clarify the rights of certain persons who are held or detained at a
port of entry or at any facility overseen by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection.
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 2025''.
SEC. 2. ACCESS TO COUNSEL AND OTHER ASSISTANCE AT PORTS OF ENTRY AND
DURING 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 at
Ports of Entry and During Deferred Inspection.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
ensure that each 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 each covered individual with a
meaningful opportunity to consult (including
consultation by telephone) with counsel and an
interested party not later than 1 hour after the
secondary inspection process commences and as necessary
throughout the remainder of 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.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Homeland Security
may not accept a 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 first providing such
lawful permanent resident a meaningful opportunity to
seek advice from counsel.
``(B) Exception.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security may accept a Form I-407 Record of Abandonment
of Lawful Permanent Resident Status (or a successor
form) from any 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
nonimmigrant in possession of a valid unexpired
nonimmigrant visa;
``(v) a refugee;
``(vi) a returning asylee; or
``(vii) 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 a nonimmigrant 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 on the date that is 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) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(4)(A));
(2) section 292 of such 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.
<all>