I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5581 
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. SCHA-
KOWSKY, 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 Com-
mittee 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 jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
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. Immi-
gration and Customs Enforcement. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Access to Counsel Act 
of 2020’’. 
SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION OF RIGHT TO COUNSEL. 
(a) RIGHT
TO COUNSEL
IN IMMIGRATION PRO-
CEEDINGS.—Section 292 of the Immigration and Nation-
ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 292. RIGHT TO COUNSEL. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In any removal, exclusion, de-
portation proceeding, or inspection under section 235(a), 
235(b), 236, 238, 240, or 241, the person subject to such 
proceeding shall be entitled to representation (at no ex-
pense to the Government) by such authorized counsel as 
the person may choose. 
‘‘(b) REDRESS OPTIONS.—If counsel cannot person-
ally meet with a person subject to holding, detention, or 
inspection at a port of entry, U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforce-
ment, as appropriate, shall provide redress options 
through which counsel may communicate remotely with 
the held or detained person during the first hour and 
thereafter of such holding or detention, regardless of the 
day or time when such holding or detention began. 
‘‘(c) RECORD OF ABANDONMENT OF LAWFUL PER-
MANENT RESIDENT STATUS OR WITHDRAWAL OF APPLI-
CATION FOR ADMISSION.—A person held or detained at 
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a port of entry may not submit a valid Record of Abandon-
ment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status or Withdrawal 
of Application for Admission if such person has been de-
nied access to counsel in accordance with this section. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) INSPECTION.—The term ‘inspection’ does 
not include primary inspection (as defined in the 
policies of the Department of Homeland Security). 
‘‘(2) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101(b)(3).’’. 
(b) RIGHT TO COUNSEL OR REPRESENTATION.—Sec-
tion 555(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following: ‘‘The right to be accom-
panied, represented, and advised by counsel or other quali-
fied representative under this subsection shall extend to 
any person subject to a proceeding, examination, holding, 
or detention described in section 292 of the Immigration 
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362).’’. 
(c) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this section, or 
in any amendment made by this section, may be construed 
to limit any preexisting right to counsel under section 292 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1362), 
as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment 
of this Act, or under any other law. 
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SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS HELD OR DETAINED 
AT PORTS OF ENTRY OR ANY CBP OR ICE DE-
TENTION FACILITY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The holding or detention of indi-
viduals at a port of entry or at any holding or detention 
facility overseen by U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement— 
(1) shall be limited to the briefest term and the 
least restrictive conditions practicable and consistent 
with the rationale for such holding or detention; and 
(2) shall include access to food, water, and rest-
room facilities. 
(b) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in this Section 
may be construed to limit agencies from complying with 
other legal authorities, policies, or standards with respect 
to treatment of individuals held or detained at ports of 
entry or at any holding or detention facility overseen by 
U.S. Customs and Border Protection or U.S. Immigration 
and Customs Enforcement. 
Æ 
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