{"format":1,"id":"117-hr-1573","congress":117,"number":"H.R. 1573","kind":"bill","group":"bills","title":"Access to Counsel Act of 2021","title_source":"Short Title(s) as Passed House","official_title":"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.","titles":[{"type":"Official Title as Introduced","title":"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."},{"type":"Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text","title":"Access to Counsel Act of 2021"},{"type":"Display Title","title":"Access to Counsel Act of 2021"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Reported to House","title":"Access to Counsel Act of 2021"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Introduced","title":"Access to Counsel Act of 2021"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Passed House","title":"Access to Counsel Act of 2021"},{"type":"Official Titles as Amended by House","title":"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."}],"outcome":"passed_house","law_number":null,"introduced":"2021-03-03","chambers":{"house":{"status":"roll_call","date":"2021-04-21","vote":{"id":"117-2021-h129","question":"On Passage","title":"Access to Counsel Act","result":"Passed","yea":217,"nay":207,"present":0,"not_voting":5,"source":"https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/roll129.xml"}},"senate":{"status":"na","date":null,"vote":null}},"president":{"status":"na","date":null},"vice_president_tie_breaker":null,"latest_action":{"text":"Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.","date":"2021-04-22"},"nominees":null,"amendments":[],"other_votes":[{"chamber":"house","date":"2021-04-21","question":"On Motion to Recommit","title":"Access to Counsel Act","result":"Failed","yea":209,"nay":215,"present":0,"not_voting":5,"kind":"procedural","source":"https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/roll128.xml"}],"crs_summary":{"date":"2021-04-21","stage":"Passed House","blocks":[{"k":"h","t":"Access to Counsel Act of 2021"},{"k":"p","t":"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."},{"k":"p","t":"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."},{"k":"p","t":"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."}],"words":167},"summary":{"main_subject":{"text":"Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to give certain people in secondary or deferred inspection a meaningful opportunity to consult with counsel and an interested party.","cites":[{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1573/text/eh#HD18AE13E7AEB4D388B3762A796BCDAA0"}]},"core_areas":["Access to counsel and an interested party during secondary and deferred inspection","Abandonment of lawful permanent resident status on Form I-407"],"what_it_does":[{"text":"Adds subsection (e) to section 235 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure a covered individual has a meaningful opportunity to consult with counsel and an interested party during the inspection process.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1573/text/eh#HD18AE13E7AEB4D388B3762A796BCDAA0"}},{"text":"Requires that the opportunity to consult, including by telephone, be provided not later than one hour after secondary inspection begins and as necessary during the rest of the inspection process, including deferred inspection.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1573/text/eh#HD18AE13E7AEB4D388B3762A796BCDAA0"}},{"text":"Requires the Secretary to allow counsel and an interested party to advocate for the covered individual, including by giving the examining immigration officer information, documentation and other evidence, and to accommodate requests for in-person appearance to the greatest extent practicable.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1573/text/eh#HD18AE13E7AEB4D388B3762A796BCDAA0"}},{"text":"Bars the Secretary from accepting a Form I-407 Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status from a lawful permanent resident in secondary or deferred inspection without first providing a meaningful opportunity to seek advice from counsel.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1573/text/eh#HD18AE13E7AEB4D388B3762A796BCDAA0"}},{"text":"Allows the Secretary to accept a Form I-407 if the lawful permanent resident knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waives, in writing, the opportunity to seek advice from counsel.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1573/text/eh#HD18AE13E7AEB4D388B3762A796BCDAA0"}},{"text":"Defines covered individual to include U.S. nationals, returning lawful permanent residents, immigrant and nonimmigrant visa holders, refugees, returning asylees, and paroled aliens, and sets an effective date 180 days after enactment.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1573/text/eh#HD18AE13E7AEB4D388B3762A796BCDAA0"}}],"unexpected":[],"version":{"type":"Engrossed in House","date":"2021-04-21","rule":"passed","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1573/text/eh"},"current":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","approved":"2026-10-15","approved_by":"checks"},"sources":{"congress_gov":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1573","text":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1573/text"},"card":{"image":"card/item/117-hr-1573.png","v":"583c4c4f472b","alt":"Votes on Record. H.R. 1573, 117th Congress: Access to Counsel Act of 2021. House: 217 Yea, 207 Nay. Outcome: Passed House, 21 Apr 2021."}}