Access to Counsel Act of 2025
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The bill amends Immigration and Nationality Act to require DHS to provide timely access to legal counsel and interested parties for individuals undergoing secondary or deferred inspection at ports of entry. It relies on compliance mandates and definition changes. The main policy areas are Immigration and Finance.
Who Benefits and How
Lawful permanent residents returning from abroad could face reduced risk, Visa holders, refugees, asylees, and parolees at ports of entry could face reduced risk, and Immigration attorneys practicing at or near ports of entry could gain revenue opportunities.
Who Bears the Burden and How
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) - port of entry operations would take on compliance duties and Department of Homeland Security - immigration enforcement operations would take on compliance duties.
Key Provisions
- Amends Immigration and Nationality Act to require DHS to provide timely access to legal counsel and interested parties for individuals undergoing secondary or deferred inspection at ports of entry.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
The bill amends Immigration and Nationality Act to require DHS to provide timely access to legal counsel and interested parties for individuals undergoing secondary or deferred inspection at ports of entry.
Key Policy Areas
Immigration, Finance
Primary Purpose
The bill amends Immigration and Nationality Act to require DHS to provide timely access to legal counsel and interested parties for individuals undergoing secondary or deferred inspection at ports of entry.
Policy Domains
Entire Bill - Access to Counsel Act of 2025
Identified Gains
- Lawful permanent residents returning from abroad
- Visa holders, refugees, asylees, and parolees at ports of entry
- Immigration attorneys practicing at or near ports of entry
- DOJ-accredited representatives from immigrant advocacy organizations
- Family members and sponsors of individuals at ports of entry
Identified Costs
- US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) - port of entry operations
- Department of Homeland Security - immigration enforcement operations
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Padilla (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Mr. Coons, …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. …
Introduced in Senate
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Family members and sponsors of individuals at ports of entry, Lawful permanent residents returning from abroad, Visa holders, refugees, asylees, and parolees at ports of entry
Department of Homeland Security - immigration enforcement operations, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) - port of entry operations
Immigration attorneys practicing at or near ports of entry
DOJ-accredited representatives from immigrant advocacy organizations
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "dhs"
- → Department of Homeland Security
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Homeland Security
- "attorney_general"
- → Attorney General (only for accreditation purposes)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status - cannot be accepted without providing LPR opportunity to seek counsel advice, unless knowingly waived in writing
Consultation (including by telephone) provided within 1 hour of secondary inspection commencement and as necessary throughout inspection process
An attorney in good standing of any State/DC/territory bar OR an individual accredited by the Attorney General as a representative of an organization recognized by EOIR
An individual subject to secondary or deferred inspection who is: (i) US national, (ii) lawful permanent resident returning from temporary visit, (iii) alien with valid immigrant visa, (iv) alien with valid nonimmigrant visa, (v) refugee, (vi) returning asylee, or (vii) parolee with advance parole document
A relative of the covered individual, petitioner/sponsor of visa holder, or any person/organization/entity with bona fide connection to covered individual
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology