Sponsors (7)
The bill strengthens the primacy of U.S. constitutional protections and authorizes refusal to apply certain foreign or religious laws—providing clearer protections against abusive practices—at the cost of reduced recognition of foreign/religious dispute mechanisms, greater litigation complexity, and potential economic and international-cooperation frictions.
People litigating in U.S. courts (including taxpayers, federal and state employees, and other litigants) will be protected from adjudications based on foreign or religious laws that conflict with the U.S. Constitution, preserving due process and constitutional rights in federal and state proceedings.
Women, children, and other potential victims of abusive practices will gain clearer protections because the bill identifies forced marriage, FGM, violent punishments, bans on religious conversion, and suppression of speech/assembly as disqualifying abusive foreign practices.
Residents, businesses, and government actors will have clearer legal rules because the bill affirms that U.S. law governs in U.S. jurisdictions and gives courts/agencies explicit authority to refuse to apply or enforce foreign laws or decisions that conflict with specified U.S. protections, reducing some legal uncertainty about when foreign norms are displaceable.
Immigrants, religious communities, families, and parties to private agreements could lose access to dispute-resolution or legal arrangements grounded in foreign or religious law (e.g., marriage, family, religious arbitration), forcing them into U.S. legal frameworks that may not reflect their consensual choices.
Small businesses, individuals engaged in cross-border commerce, and creditors risk higher legal and financial exposure because foreign judgments, arbitration awards, or contract clauses based on barred foreign laws may be unenforceable in the U.S., reducing predictability and remedies for international deals.
Federal and state courts, agencies, and parties will face additional litigation complexity and cost because judges must assess foreign forum procedures and determine whether foreign or private laws meet U.S. constitutional standards, lengthening cases and increasing administrative burdens.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Bars federal courts and agencies from recognizing or enforcing foreign or religious laws, customs, or practices that conflict with the U.S. Constitution or federal law.
Official title: To protect individual liberties guaranteed under the constitution of the United States of America and laws made pursuant thereto.
Introduced June 30, 2026 by Keith Self · Last progress June 30, 2026
Prohibits federal entities from recognizing, enforcing, or giving effect to foreign laws, religious laws, customs, or practices that conflict with the U.S. Constitution or federal law. It lists specific practices (for example, gender discrimination, forced or child marriage, criminal punishments like amputation or stoning, female genital mutilation) and directs federal courts, agencies, and adjudicative bodies not to apply or enforce such laws or contractual clauses that would require their application. The measure treats violations as reversible error on appeal but does not create a private right to sue for injunctions or damages.