Access to Counsel Act of 2021

IIB 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1573 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 22, 2021 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary AN ACT 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:01 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1573.RFS H1573 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 1573 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Access to Counsel Act 2 of 2021’’. 3 SEC. 2. ACCESS TO COUNSEL AND OTHER ASSISTANCE AT 4 PORTS OF ENTRY AND DURING DEFERRED 5 INSPECTION. 6 (a) ACCESS TO COUNSEL AND OTHER ASSISTANCE 7 DURING INSPECTION.—Section 235 of the Immigration 8 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1225) is amended by add- 9 ing at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(e) ACCESS TO COUNSEL AND OTHER ASSISTANCE 11 DURING INSPECTION AT PORTS OF ENTRY AND DURING 12 DEFERRED INSPECTION.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Homeland 14 Security shall ensure that a covered individual has 15 a meaningful opportunity to consult with counsel 16 and an interested party during the inspection proc- 17 ess. 18 ‘‘(2) SCOPE OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 19 Homeland Security shall— 20 ‘‘(A) provide the covered individual a 21 meaningful opportunity to consult (including 22 consultation via telephone) with counsel and an 23 interested party not later than one hour after 24 the secondary inspection process commences 25 and as necessary throughout the remainder of 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:01 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1573.RFS H1573 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 1573 RFS the inspection process, including, as applicable, 1 during deferred inspection; 2 ‘‘(B) allow counsel and an interested party 3 to advocate on behalf of the covered individual, 4 including by providing to the examining immi- 5 gration officer information, documentation, and 6 other evidence in support of the covered indi- 7 vidual; and 8 ‘‘(C) to the greatest extent practicable, ac- 9 commodate a request by the covered individual 10 for counsel or an interested party to appear in- 11 person at the secondary or deferred inspection 12 site. 13 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR LAWFUL PERMANENT 14 RESIDENTS.— 15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 16 subparagraph (B), the Secretary of Homeland 17 Security may not accept a Form I-407 Record 18 of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident 19 Status (or a successor form) from a lawful per- 20 manent resident subject to secondary or de- 21 ferred inspection without first providing such 22 lawful permanent resident a meaningful oppor- 23 tunity to seek advice from counsel. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:01 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1573.RFS H1573 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 1573 RFS ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary of 1 Homeland Security may accept Form I-407 2 Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent 3 Resident Status (or a successor form) from a 4 lawful permanent resident subject to secondary 5 or deferred inspection if such lawful permanent 6 resident knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily 7 waives, in writing, the opportunity to seek ad- 8 vice from counsel. 9 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 ‘‘(A) COUNSEL.—The term ‘counsel’ 11 means— 12 ‘‘(i) an attorney who is a member in 13 good standing of the bar of any State, the 14 District of Columbia, or a territory or a 15 possession of the United States and is not 16 under an order suspending, enjoining, re- 17 straining, disbarring, or otherwise restrict- 18 ing the attorney in the practice of law; or 19 ‘‘(ii) an individual accredited by the 20 Attorney General, acting as a representa- 21 tive of an organization recognized by the 22 Executive Office for Immigration Review, 23 to represent a covered individual in immi- 24 gration matters. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:01 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1573.RFS H1573 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 1573 RFS ‘‘(B) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term 1 ‘covered individual’ means an individual subject 2 to secondary or deferred inspection who is— 3 ‘‘(i) a national of the United States; 4 ‘‘(ii) an immigrant, lawfully admitted 5 for permanent residence, who is returning 6 from a temporary visit abroad; 7 ‘‘(iii) an alien seeking admission as an 8 immigrant in possession of a valid unex- 9 pired immigrant visa; 10 ‘‘(iv) an alien seeking admission as a 11 nonimmigrant in possession of a valid un- 12 expired nonimmigrant visa; 13 ‘‘(v) a refugee; 14 ‘‘(vi) a returning asylee; or 15 ‘‘(vii) an alien who has been approved 16 for parole under section 212(d)(5)(A), in- 17 cluding an alien who is returning to the 18 United States in possession of a valid ad- 19 vance parole document. 20 ‘‘(C) INTERESTED PARTY.—The term ‘in- 21 terested party’ means— 22 ‘‘(i) a relative of the covered indi- 23 vidual; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:01 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1573.RFS H1573 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 1573 RFS ‘‘(ii) in the case of a covered indi- 1 vidual to whom an immigrant or a non- 2 immigrant visa has been issued, the peti- 3 tioner or sponsor thereof (including an 4 agent of such petitioner or sponsor); or 5 ‘‘(iii) a person, organization, or entity 6 in the United States with a bona fide con- 7 nection to the covered individual.’’. 8 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 9 subsection (a) shall take effect 180 days after the date 10 of the enactment of this Act. 11 (c) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this Act, or in 12 any amendment made by this Act, may be construed to 13 limit a right to counsel or any right to appointed counsel 14 under— 15 (1) section 240(b)(4)(A) (8 U.S.C. 16 1229a(b)(4)(A)); 17 (2) section 292 of the Immigration and Nation- 18 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362); or 19 (3) any other provision of law, including any 20 final court order securing such rights, 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:01 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1573.RFS H1573 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 1573 RFS as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment 1 of this Act. 2 Passed the House of Representatives April 21, 2021. Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:01 Apr 23, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1573.RFS H1573 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS