Sen. Harris’ 1st bill seeks legal counsel for refugees

WASHINGTON — California Sen. Kamala Harris will introduce her first bill in the Senate on Thursday to guarantee legal counsel for refugees and other travelers blocked at U.S. ports of entry, a bill intended to address the chaos that engulfed people trying to enter the country in the face of President Trump’s travel ban.

Several courts have blocked it and the order is currently under review by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

The administration later clarified that the ban did not apply to permanent legal residents or U.S. passport holders.

Harris’ office said the senator received numerous reports of “refugees, green-card holders and even U.S. citizens — many of whom were women, elderly, or children — held for long periods of time, and denied access to volunteer lawyers” when the ban was imposed.

A number of civil rights and immigrant rights groups, including the National Council of La Raza and the National Immigrant Justice Center, support the legislation.