Strengthening Immigration Procedures Act of 2025

S 1201, the Strengthening Immigration Procedures Act of 2025, changes how immigrants can challenge ineffective legal representation in removal proceedings. It removes a unique requirement that previously forced immigrants to file complaints with state bar associations before claiming their lawyers performed poorly, which created barriers to fair hearings. The bill instead applies the standard from *Strickland v. Washington* (used in criminal cases) to immigration matters, allowing immigrants to directly argue that their lawyer’s serious errors denied them a fair process. This affects all immigrants facing deportation or removal proceedings who seek to challenge their counsel’s performance, regardless of when their case began.