Sponsor
The bill strengthens protections for Americans and U.S. businesses by barring and removing foreign officials who impose discriminatory economic measures, at the cost of legal uncertainty for immigration enforcement, potential diplomatic/trade frictions, and added administrative expense.
U.S. persons, U.S. businesses, and immigrants — foreign officials who engage in discriminatory economic enforcement can be barred from entering the U.S., deterring abusive foreign actions and protecting Americans and U.S. companies from extraterritorial economic coercion.
Immigrants and U.S. persons — foreign officials already present in the United States who have engaged in economic discrimination may be removed, giving victims recourse and preventing offending officials from remaining here.
Federal immigration officers and visa applicants — the law hinges on fact‑intensive and subjective determinations of 'economic discrimination,' creating legal uncertainty for adjudicators and applicants and complicating consistent enforcement.
Small businesses and financial institutions (and broader U.S. trade relations) — foreign officials may avoid engaging with U.S. businesses or may hesitate to adopt legitimate regulatory measures out of fear of immigration consequences, potentially chilling diplomacy and trade.
Taxpayers and federal agencies — implementing, investigating, and litigating determinations of 'economic discrimination' could create administrative burdens and legal costs for DHS/DOJ, increasing taxpayer expense.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Representative · R-WA
Adds inadmissibility and deportability grounds for foreign officials who impose discriminatory economic or regulatory actions against U.S. persons.
Makes foreign government officials who target U.S. persons with discriminatory economic or regulatory actions inadmissible to the United States and removable if already present. It defines “economic discrimination” as investigations, enforcement actions, licensing decisions, fines, taxes, or other legal or administrative burdens that are more severe, more frequent, or less procedurally favorable than actions taken against similarly situated non‑U.S. persons. The measure adds matching grounds to the Immigration and Nationality Act for inadmissibility and deportability so that covered foreign officials can be denied entry or removed based on those acts while acting in an official capacity.
Official title: To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the inadmissibility and deportability of aliens who engage in economic discrimination against United States persons, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 22, 2026 by Michael Baumgartner · Last progress July 22, 2026