Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) is unveiling sweeping immigration legislation aimed at preventing individuals who support hostile political or religious ideologies from obtaining the benefits of U.S. immigration or citizenship, arguing that America should not admit those who seek to undermine its constitutional system.
The proposal, dubbed the **MAMDANI Act**, would expand existing immigration restrictions by making foreign nationals affiliated with certain extremist political or religious movements ineligible for admission or naturalization. The bill would also create new statutory definitions for ideologies and organizations covered under the legislation while strengthening provisions related to immigration fraud and other existing enforcement mechanisms.
According to Roy, the measure is designed to ensure that America’s immigration system serves the interests of American citizens—not individuals who reject the nation’s founding principles.
“Why do we continue to import people who hate us?” Roy asked in a statement announcing the legislation.
The Texas congressman argued that for decades, Washington has failed to prioritize American workers and national security.
“Not just for the last six years, but for the last 60 years, our immigration system has been cynically used to disadvantage American workers’ competitiveness in favor of mass-importing the third world,” Roy said. He added that those policies have contributed not only to economic challenges but also to the spread of ideologies he believes are fundamentally incompatible with the values upon which the United States was founded.
Roy said his legislation is intended to confront what he described as a growing alliance between radical political movements and religious extremism.
“By targeting the Red-Green Alliance, this legislation deploys new tools to fight back against the Marxist and Islamist advance that has devastated Europe and has now arrived on our doorstep, especially in my home state of Texas,” he said.
Supporters of the proposal argue that immigration is a privilege rather than an entitlement and that every sovereign nation has both the authority and the obligation to decide who may enter its borders.
Grant Newman, Director of Government Relations for the Immigration Accountability Project, praised the legislation, saying the United States should not knowingly admit individuals who oppose its constitutional framework.
“Admission to the United States is a privilege, not a right,” Newman said. “We have absolutely no obligation to open our doors to aliens who seek to undermine the Constitution, dismantle our republic, or champion ideologies fundamentally opposed to American liberties.”
He added that protecting the nation’s security and preserving its constitutional order should remain the government’s highest priority.
According to a summary released by Roy’s office, the legislation was inspired in part by concerns about the growing visibility of politicians and activists who openly embrace socialist or Marxist ideas. The bill’s title references New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, whom Roy’s office cited as an example of what it views as the long-term consequences of immigration policies that fail to adequately screen for ideological extremism.
The proposal also reflects Roy’s broader effort to tighten immigration laws.
In 2025, the Texas congressman introduced the **Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act**, legislation intended to address concerns about the influence of Islamic legal doctrines that he argued conflict with America’s constitutional principles.
At the time, Roy warned that Western nations should pay close attention to the challenges some European countries have faced regarding immigration, integration, and social cohesion. He argued that the United States should learn from those experiences before similar tensions become more deeply rooted at home.
The introduction of the MAMDANI Act is expected to reignite debate over the balance between national security, immigration policy, and constitutional protections. Supporters argue the bill represents a common-sense effort to prevent ideological extremists from benefiting from America’s immigration system, while critics are likely to question both its constitutionality and the breadth of its provisions.
As Congress prepares to consider the proposal, the legislation is poised to become another flashpoint in the broader national debate over immigration, assimilation, and what standards should govern admission to the United States.
