IB 
Union Calendar No. 8 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1573 
[Report No. 117–21] 
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 
MARCH 3, 2021 
Ms. JAYAPAL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
APRIL 16, 2021 
Additional sponsors: Ms. CHU, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. 
GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. 
LEE of California, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 
RUSH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. 
ESPAILLAT, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. KILMER, Mr. MCGOVERN, 
Mr. NADLER, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. SCANLON, Mr. 
SWALWELL, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. 
BARRAGA´N, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. CARSON, Mr. 
GALLEGO, Mr. CORREA, Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. JACOBS of California, Mr. 
JONES, Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NEWMAN, Ms. 
ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. TORRES of New York, 
Mr. VARGAS, Mr. CASTEN, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illi-
nois, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. LIEU, Mr. NEGUSE, and Mr. QUIGLEY 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:14 Apr 17, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\H1573.RH
H1573
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
APRIL 16, 2021 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House 
on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 3, 2021] 
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. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:14 Apr 17, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6652
E:\BILLS\H1573.RH
H1573
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives 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 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. ACCESS TO COUNSEL AND OTHER ASSISTANCE AT 
PORTS OF ENTRY AND DURING DEFERRED IN-
SPECTION. 
(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 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 (including 
consultation via telephone) with counsel and an 
interested party not later than one hour after the 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:14 Apr 17, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H1573.RH
H1573
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
secondary inspection process commences and as 
necessary throughout the remainder of the in-
spection 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 immi-
gration officer information, documentation, and 
other evidence in support of the covered indi-
vidual; and 
‘‘(C) to the greatest extent practicable, ac-
commodate 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 per-
manent resident subject to secondary or deferred 
inspection without first providing such lawful 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:14 Apr 17, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H1573.RH
H1573
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
permanent resident a meaningful opportunity to 
seek advice from counsel. 
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary of Home-
land Security may accept Form I-407 Record of 
Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident 
Status (or a successor form) from a lawful per-
manent 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, re-
straining, disbarring, or otherwise restrict-
ing 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 Execu-
tive Office for Immigration Review, to rep-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:14 Apr 17, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H1573.RH
H1573
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
‘‘(i) a relative of the covered indi-
vidual; 
‘‘(ii) in the case of a covered indi-
vidual to whom an immigrant or a non-
immigrant visa has been issued, the peti-
tioner 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 con-
nection to the covered individual.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub-
section (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 Nation-
ality 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. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:14 Apr 17, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6203
E:\BILLS\H1573.RH
H1573
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘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.’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:14 Apr 17, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1573.RH
H1573
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:14 Apr 17, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1573.RH
H1573
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 8 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 1573 
[Report No. 117–21] 
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. 
APRIL 16, 2021 
Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee 
of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
dered to be printed 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
03:14 Apr 17, 2021
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6651
Sfmt 6651
E:\BILLS\H1573.RH
H1573
SSpencer on DSK126QN23PROD with BILLS