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S. 391119th CongressIn committeeLatest action Feb 4, 2025Decoded by AI · checked against the record
The plain-language version leads. The official text is always the reference.
S 391 would require CBP to offer select travelers access to a lawyer or trusted contact within one hour of secondary inspection starting.
55-second read · 4 questions answered below
Senate Bill 391 would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection to offer certain travelers the opportunity to contact a lawyer or a trusted person within one hour of secondary inspection beginning. That lawyer or contact could share documents and speak on the traveler's behalf during screening. The bill does not provide a government-appointed lawyer at no cost, only the right to contact one the traveler arranges.
The bill covers U.S. citizens, green card holders returning from abroad, people with valid visas, refugees, asylees, and people approved for parole into the country. CBP officers would also be directly affected, as they would be required to follow the new procedures.
Green card holders could not be asked to sign away their permanent resident status during screening unless they first spoke with a lawyer or voluntarily waived that step in writing. Travelers in the covered categories who are sent to secondary inspection would gain a procedural right they do not currently have under existing law.
AI-drafted summary. Verify it against the official text before you act on it. Read the official bill on Congress.gov
Right now: a Senate committee is reviewing it. If the House changes it, it goes back to the Senate before reaching the President.
Latest action: — Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S595-596)