S. 1912 · 117th Congress
Access to Counsel Act of 2021
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 117th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
PadillaSponsor16 cosponsors · 15 D, 1 I
D
Booker
CC
D
Coons
CC
D
Cortez Masto
RD
D
Durbin
MH
D
Hirono
EM
D
Markey
EW
D
Warren
RB
D
Blumenthal
TD
D
Duckworth
KG
D
Gillibrand
JR
D
Rosen
BS
I
Sanders
BC
D
Cardin
JO
D
Ossoff
JH
D
Hickenlooper
PM
D
Murray7 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
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.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · May 27, 2021
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.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Access to Counsel Act of 2021
Latest action (May 27, 2021): Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S3899-3900)
Policy area: Immigration · Origin: Senate · Introduced: May 27, 2021
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.