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Hirono, Colleagues Introduce Bicameral Legislation to Ensure Access to Legal Counsel When Entering the United States

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) joined Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and 13 colleagues in introducing the Access to Counsel Act, legislation 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. Companion legislation in the House of Representatives is being led by U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA).

The previous Muslim Ban in Trump’s first term unleashed chaos at airports and ports of entry across the country. People from Muslim-majority countries, with lawful permission to enter the U.S., were detained for hours without food or water before being deported. These individuals were often pressured to sign documents that amounted to them giving up their legal status. In many cases, these individuals had no opportunity to see an attorney or call anyone for legal guidance. Since then, there have been numerous instances of individuals across the country being denied access to legal counsel while detained for long periods despite having valid visas.

“President Trump’s travel ban in 2017 suspended the entry of individuals from seven countries, unjustly detaining hundreds of people, denying them their basic rights, and sowing fear and chaos amongst immigrant and refugee communities,” said Senator Hirono. “Now, as President Trump unleashes his anti-immigrant agenda across the country, this critical legislation will help to safeguard our immigrant communities by codifying the right to access legal counsel at ports of entry.”

Specifically, the Access to Counsel Act would:

  1. 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;
  2. 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; and
  3. Invalidate any effort by CBP to persuade someone to relinquish their legal status if that person has been denied access to counsel.

This legislation is endorsed by American Immigration Lawyers Association, Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, Center for Gender & Refugee Studies, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Immigration Equality Action Fund, Kids in Need of Defense, National Immigrant Justice Center, National Partnership for New Americans, OneAmerica, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC), and UnidosUS.

In addition to Senators Hirono and Padilla, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

The full text of the legislation is available here.

Senator Hirono is a leading champion in the fight for comprehensive immigration reform and continues to advocate on behalf of immigrant communities in Hawaii and across the country. In January 2025, Senator Hirono and Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) reintroduced the Neighbors Not Enemies Act, legislation that would repeal the antiquated Alien Enemies Act (AEA) of 1798, which has been used to target innocent immigrants based on nothing more than national origin, without affording due process rights. In December 2024, Senator Hirono and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) introduced the Reuniting Families Act, legislation that would promote family unity in our country’s immigration system, reduce the family-based immigration backlogs, and update our laws to reflect how families immigrate to the United States. The bill also includes Senator Hirono’s Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act, legislation that would speed up the visa process for children of Filipino World War II veterans. In June 2024, Senator Hirono and Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) led their colleagues in introducing the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2024, which would grant U.S. citizenship to international adoptees who were legally adopted in the U.S. as children but lack citizenship status due to a loophole in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.

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