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Jayapal, Padilla Introduce Legislation to Ensure Access to Legal Counsel for Persons Detained by Customs and Border Protection

WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) are today introducing the Access to Counsel Act to ensure that U.S. citizens, green card holders, and other individuals with legal status can consult with an attorney, relative, or other interested parties to seek assistance if they are detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for more than an hour at ports of entry, including airports. This will be introduced in conjunction with the NO BAN Act, legislation to prevent another Muslim ban, led by Representative Judy Chu (CA-28) and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE). 

“It was incredibly clear how critical this legislation was under the first Trump Administration, as he stripped basic civil rights away from individuals for reasons ranging from the color of their skin to the country of their origin. I remember rushing to my local airport and found a U.S. citizen woman waiting to welcome her husband who had been put on a plane back without being allowed to see an attorney, despite traveling on a valid visa,” said Jayapal. “It is more important now than ever, under a second Trump Administration, that we codify the right to access counsel for detained persons who are legally allowed access to the United States. As we continue to see him scapegoat immigrants, we must protect people from unjust detention.”

“In his first term, President Trump’s cruel and unlawful travel ban led to the detention of countless legally present noncitizens at airports and ports of entry while denying them their basic legal rights,” said Padilla. “Now, with another executive order setting the stage for a new travel ban, the Access to Counsel Act is more important than ever. These important guardrails would prevent CBP from blocking noncitizens it has detained with lawful permission to be in the United States from calling a lawyer or a trusted contact.”

The Access to Counsel Act would:

  • Require the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that people with valid travel documents who present themselves at the border, airports, or other points of interaction can communicate with counsel and other interested parties if they are subjected to prolonged inspection by CBP. 
  • Allow counsel or a covered interested party the ability to advocate on behalf of the individual by providing information or documentation in support of the individual.
  • Invalidate any effort by CBP to persuade someone to relinquish their legal status (by executing an I-407 or Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status) if that person has been denied access to counsel.

The Access to Counsel Act was originally introduced by Jayapal in 2017 as a direct response to Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban, which unleashed chaos at airports across the country as people from seven Muslim-majority countries were detained for hours without food or water before being deported. Some individuals were pressured to sign papers giving up their legal status. In many cases, these individuals had no opportunity to see an attorney or even call an immediate family member to let them know they were being turned back. Since then, there have been numerous instances of individuals being denied access to legal counsel while detained for long periods before being sent back despite holding valid visas.

In the 117th Congress, the Access to Counsel Act was supported by the Biden White House and passed the House of Representatives in the 116th and 117th Congresses. 

The legislation is currently cosponsored by Representatives Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Greg Casar (TX-35), Sean Casten (IL-06), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Summer Lee (PA-12), Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Sarah McBride (DE-AL), James P. McGovern (MA-02), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Grace Meng (NY-06), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Adam Smith (WA-09), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), and Nikema Williams (GA-05). 

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