H.R. 1573 · 117th Congress

Access to Counsel Act of 2021

Introduced on Mar 3, 2021 by Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-7). 49 cosponsors, all from the sponsor's party. Latest action (Apr 22, 2021): Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Stage
Passed one chamber
Introduced
Mar 3, 2021
Cosponsors
49
0 from the other party
Policy area
Immigration
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Progress

The furthest stage the measure reached. Simple and concurrent resolutions do not go to the President.

  1. Introduced
  2. Reported by committee
  3. Passed one chamber
  4. 4Passed both chambers
  5. 5Sent to the President
  6. 6Became law

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.

Subjects

  • Administrative remedies
  • Border security and unlawful immigration
  • Department of Homeland Security
  • Detention of persons
  • Evidence and witnesses
  • Immigration status and procedures
  • Lawyers and legal services
  • Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
  • Telephone and wireless communication
  • Visas and passports

Summary

By the Congressional Research Service (Passed House, Apr 21, 2021). Public domain.

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.

Sponsor and cosponsors

Cosponsors by party as of the day they signed on. Original cosponsors signed on the day of introduction.

Pramila JayapalD-WA-7Sponsor

Democrats · 49

Roll calls

Recorded votes on the measure. Most measures move by voice vote or unanimous consent, which record no individual positions.

  1. On Motion to Recommit
    Apr 21, 2021· House· Procedural· Failed 209–215
  2. On Passage
    Apr 21, 2021· House· Passage· Passed 217–207

History

Every action as published, oldest first. Roll calls link to how each member voted.

  1. Mar 3, 2021Introduced in House
  2. Mar 3, 2021Introduced in House
  3. Mar 3, 2021 · HouseReferred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
  4. Apr 14, 2021 · HouseCommittee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
  5. Apr 14, 2021 · HouseOrdered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: 24 - 16.
  6. Apr 16, 2021Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 117-21.
  7. Apr 16, 2021 · HouseReported (Amended) by the Committee on Judiciary. H. Rept. 117-21.
  8. Apr 16, 2021 · HousePlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 8.
  9. Apr 20, 2021 · HouseRules Committee Resolution H. Res. 330 Reported to House. Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 51, H.R. 1573 and H.R. 1333. Measure will be considered read. Bill is closed to amendments. The previous question on each measure is considered ordered without intervening motions except one hour of debate and a motion to recommit. H. Res. 316 and H. Con. Res. 30 are adopted.
  10. Apr 21, 2021 · HouseConsidered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 330. (consideration: CR H2016-2025)
  11. Apr 21, 2021 · HouseRule provides for consideration of H.R. 51, H.R. 1573 and H.R. 1333. Measure will be considered read. Bill is closed to amendments. The previous question on each measure is considered ordered without intervening motions except one hour of debate and a motion to recommit. H. Res. 316 and H. Con. Res. 30 are adopted.
  12. Apr 21, 2021 · HouseDEBATE - The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H.R. 1573.
  13. Apr 21, 2021 · HouseThe previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
  14. Apr 21, 2021 · HouseMr. Issa moved to recommit to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR H2024)
  15. Apr 21, 2021 · HouseThe previous question on the motion was ordered without objection.
  16. Apr 21, 2021 · HousePOSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - The Chair put the question on the Issa motion to recommit and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Issa demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings until a time to be announced.
  17. Apr 21, 2021 · HouseConsidered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H2030-2032)
  18. Apr 21, 2021 · HouseOn motion to recommit Failed by the Yeas and Nays: 209 - 215 (Roll no. 128).House · Roll call 128
  19. Apr 21, 2021Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 217 - 207 (Roll no. 129).(text: CR H2016)House · Roll call 129
  20. Apr 21, 2021 · HouseOn passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 217 - 207 (Roll no. 129). (text: CR H2016)House · Roll call 129
  21. Apr 21, 2021 · HouseMotion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
  22. Apr 22, 2021 · SenateReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Committees

Committees and subcommittees the measure was referred to.

Agencies in its committees' jurisdiction

Analisa's mapping of committee jurisdiction to federal agencies; the bill may touch others, or none of these.

Sources and method

Every figure on this page traces to these records.

  • Bill status: bills and resolutions, sponsors, actions, subjects and CRS summaries (U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), from Congress.gov (Library of Congress))GovInfo Bill Status bulk data (Congress.gov; summaries by the Congressional Research Service) · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Members of Congress, their terms, committees and identifiers (The @unitedstates project (from the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the House and the Senate))unitedstates/congress-legislators: legislators, committees and current committee membership · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: CC0 1.0 (public domain dedication)
  • House roll-call votes (Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives)Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, roll-call vote records · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Senate roll-call votes and DW-NOMINATE scores (Voteview (UCLA Department of Political Science))Lewis, Jeffrey B., Keith Poole, Howard Rosenthal, Adam Boche, Aaron Rudkin, and Luke Sonnet (2026). Voteview: Congressional Roll-Call Votes Database. https://voteview.com/ · data current to Oct 3, 2026 · loaded Oct 3, 2026 · license: Free to use with the required citation
  • Lobbying disclosures (LD-1 registrations, LD-2 quarterly reports, LD-203 contribution reports) (Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives)Clerk of the House, Lobbying Disclosure Act filings (organizations only; lobbyists' names are not loaded) · data current to Oct 6, 2026 · loaded Oct 6, 2026 · license: Public domain (U.S. Government work, 17 U.S.C. § 105)
  • Positions are shown only where a roll call recorded them; voice votes and unanimous consent record none.