# 119-s-1201: Strengthening Immigration Procedures Act of 2025

119-s-1201, Strengthening Immigration Procedures Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT] (D-CT); status introduced (as of 2026-08-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1201
- As of: 2026-08-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1201
- Congress: 119
- Title: Strengthening Immigration Procedures Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-03-31
- Sponsor: Sen. Murphy, Christopher [D-CT] (D-CT)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Immigration
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-11

## Summary

1. **The Hook:** This bill would create a clear federal route for noncitizens to raise **ineffective assistance of counsel claims** in immigration matters. It would set definitions and a single standard for when poor lawyer performance harmed the fairness of immigration proceedings and apply that standard to all cases whether pending, future, or already decided. 2. **The Impact:** - People in removal, exclusion, or related proceedings could challenge past lawyer errors when those errors were so serious they deprived them of a fair process. The claim covers any stage, including motions to reopen or reconsider. - People whose immigration cases were fully adjudicated before enactment would still be able to bring these claims under the new rule. - Immigration judges, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Attorney General would evaluate counsel performance under a standard tied to Strickland v. Washington, creating a uniform test across immigration matters. 3. **The Bottom Line:**

## Provisions PRIA read

- New remedy for ineffective immigration lawyers: benefit, medium. If enacted, you would be able to raise a claim that your lawyer was ineffective in any immigration matter. This would cover exclusion, deportation, and removal proceedings, including motions to reopen or reconsider, and matters before DHS or the Attorney General. To win the claim, you would need to…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1507: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act
- 119-s-2231: GLOBE Act of 2025
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act

## Sources
- [119-s-1201 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1201)

## Related
- [119-s-1507: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1507)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-3869: Healthy Families Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3869)
- [119-s-2231: GLOBE Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2231)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1201 (as of 2026-08-11).