United States · Bill · HR
H.R. 5581 (116th)
Access to Counsel Act of 2020
Introduced
10 January 2020
Last action
—
Status
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 332.
Sponsors
—
Subjects
Discovery layer
Source updated
6 December 2025
Summary
Access to Counsel Act of 2020 This bill establishes various protections for aliens in certain immigration-related proceedings or inspections. When an alien is undergoing certain types of inspections or is subject to a removal, exclusion, or deportation proceeding, the alien shall be entitled to representation by counsel of the alien's choice, at no cost to the government. The current statute only states that an alien is entitled to representation in removal proceedings. If such an alien is subject to detention or inspection at a port of entry and cannot meet with counsel, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shall provide for remote communication with counsel. If such an alien has been denied access to counsel, the alien may not submit paperwork to abandon lawful permanent resident status or to withdraw an application for admission. The detention of an individual at a port of entry or a CBP or ICE facility shall (1) be limited to the briefest term and the least restrictive conditions necessary, and (2) include access to food, water, and restrooms.
This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.
Timeline
No timeline events have been ingested for this record yet.
Votes
No vote records are attached yet.
Versions
No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.
Documents
6 official files
Reported in House (text)
Reported in House (text)
Reported in House · EN · 5 March 2020
Reported in House (PDF)
Reported in House · EN · 5 March 2020
Reported to House, Part I
summary · EN · 5 March 2020
Introduced in House (text)
Introduced in House · EN · 10 January 2020
Introduced in House (PDF)
Introduced in House · EN · 10 January 2020
Introduced in House
summary · EN · 10 January 2020
Sponsors
No sponsors or actors listed by the source.
Related records
No cross-record relationships stored yet.
Sources
PoliticalRepo is an index and interpretation layer, not the authoritative legal source.
- Official source: https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/5581
- Open data entity: https://api.congress.gov/v3/bill/116/hr/5581