Access to Counsel Act of 2021
Bill: S.1912 | Sponsor: Sen. Padilla, Alex (D-CA)
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Access to Counsel Act of 2021
This bill provides various protections for covered individuals subject to secondary or deferred inspections when seeking admission into the United States. Covered individuals include U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents, aliens in possession of a visa, returning asylees, and refugees.
The Department of Homeland Security shall ensure that a covered individual subject to secondary or deferred inspection has a meaningful opportunity to consult with counsel and certain related parties, such as a relative, within an hour of the start of the secondary inspection and as necessary during the inspection process. The counsel and related party shall be allowed to advocate on behalf of the covered individual, including by providing evidence and information to the examining immigration officer.
A lawful permanent resident subject to secondary or deferred inspection may not abandon lawful permanent resident status until the individual has had a meaningful opportunity to seek advice from counsel, unless the individual voluntarily and knowingly waives in writing this opportunity to seek counsel's advice.

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 2021''.

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 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 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 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 
                        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 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.
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