United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee 19 D cosponsors

S 391 — Access to Counsel Act of 2025

Last action — Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S595-596)

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 04, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 19 sponsors

    1 primary, 18 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (19 D).

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Access to Counsel Act of 2025This 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.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S595-596)

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 18 co-sponsors · 528 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (18)

Not signed on (528)

528 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 528 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

immigration civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 391 do?
Access to Counsel Act of 2025This 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.
Who sponsors S 391?
S 391 is sponsored by Padilla, Alex (Democratic), Blumenthal, Richard (Democratic), Booker, Cory A. (Democratic), Coons, Christopher A. (Democratic), Cortez Masto, Catherine (Democratic), Duckworth, Tammy (Democratic), Durbin, Richard J. (Democratic), Hickenlooper, John W. (Democratic), Hirono, Mazie K. (Democratic), Markey, Edward J. (Democratic), Murray, Patty (Democratic), Rosen, Jacky (Democratic), Schiff, Adam B. (Democratic), Warren, Elizabeth (Democratic), Welch, Peter (Democratic), Luján, Ben Ray (Democratic), Kim, Andy (Democratic), Ossoff, Jon (Democratic), and Alsobrooks, Angela D. (Democratic).
What is the current status of S 391?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 04, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 391?
Track S 391 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on S 391

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of S 391

Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →