Welch Joins 59 Congressional Democrats on Bicameral Bill to Ensure DHS Detainees Can Speak to a Lawyer, Contact their Families

Nov 7, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C.–U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.),Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, today joinedU.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.),U.S. Representative Maxine Dexter (D-OR-03),and 57 congressional Democrats in introducing theRestoring Access to Detainees Act, bicameral legislation to ensure the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allows noncitizens who have been detained to contact their legal counsel and families.
“President Trump’s takeover of our immigration system has been nothing short of inhumane–conducting violent raids and detaining folks right off the street. As a result, children and families all across the country are now desperately trying to figure out why their family member didn’t come home and where they are being held—it’s cruel,”said Senator Welch.“Our bill aims to ensure families have access to their loved ones while in immigration detention and access to a lawyer. Everyone deserves due process.”
“For months now, Americans have watched the horrific videos of CBP and ICE agents violently snatching people off the street at schools, workplaces, and grocery stores. But what happens after people are taken into custody is equally disturbing,”said Senator Murphy.“DHS has repeatedly refused to allow people to contact their families and lawyers, traumatizing children and families who are left searching for answers when their loved one suddenly misses after-school pickup or just doesn’t come home for dinner. It’s heartless and deeply un-American. This bill protects the basic right of people in this country to call their family – which often includes American citizens – when they are taken into custody. DHS has proven time and again they cannot be trusted to follow basic humanitarian principles, and it’s on Congress to step in and hold them accountable.”
“I saw with my own eyes the reality of Trump’s immigration system: a mother and her four U.S. citizen children disappeared and locked in a windowless cell unable to contact a lawyer or their loved ones. The inhumanity was staggering. If we allow this to continue, we will lose who we are,”said Representative Dexter.“I’m proud to join Senator Chris Murphy in defending the simple truth that access to legal counsel and communication with loved ones isn’t a luxury, it is a fundamental human right.”
The bill comes after months of credible reporting that U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) have deprived detainees—including children and longtime legal residents—of the ability to access a lawyer, sometimes for months at a time. People have also reportedly been taken into custody, and in some cases, transferred to facilities in other countries, without being allowed to contact their families.
TheRestoring Access to Detainees Actwould ensure:
Notable instances of the Trump Administration cutting off detainees from their constitutionally enshrined right to legal counsel include:
Civil rights groups including the American Immigration Lawyers Association, National Immigration Law Center, National Immigrant Justice Center, Stop AAPI Hate, and New Haven Legal Assistance Association have endorsed theRestoring Access to Detainees Act.
In the Senate, theRestoring Access to Detainees Act of 2025is cosponsored by Senators Welch, Murphy, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.). The legislation is led in the House by Rep. Dexter and cosponsored by 36 additional House members.
Learn moreabout theRestoring Access to Detainees Act.
Read and downloadthe full text of the bill.
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