Access to Counsel Act
Have a question about what this bill does? Ask in plain English; the answer is drawn from the bill's actual text and official record, and it'll tell you when something isn't in the text rather than guess.
Access to Counsel Act
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, non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) in possession of a visa, returning asylees, and refugees.
The Department of Homeland Security must 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 must 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.
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Introduced in House Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
Cite this page
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 666: Access to Counsel Act. 118th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-666/
"H.R. 666: Access to Counsel Act." 118th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-666/.
H.R. 666, 118th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-666/.
[H.R. 666: Access to Counsel Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/118-HR-666/)