Sponsor
Richard Lynn Scott
Senator · R-FL
Senator · R-FL
The bill strengthens national-security and enforcement authority by allowing denial/removal of aliens compelled by foreign intelligence laws, but does so at the cost of increased risk of deportation and disparate impacts on nationals of certain countries and added administrative burdens for visa and asylum processing.
Immigrants from countries whose laws may compel cooperation with foreign intelligence services will face lower risk that covert foreign agents are admitted to or remain in the U.S., improving national security.
DHS and DOJ (immigration and law-enforcement agencies) gain a clear statutory basis to deny admission or remove aliens compelled by foreign intelligence laws, simplifying enforcement decisions and reducing legal uncertainty for officials.
Immigrants who lawfully reside in the U.S. but hold nationality from countries with broadly written intelligence/cooperation statutes could be deported or barred even if they never aided intelligence activities, threatening their rights and liberty.
Nationals of certain countries may be disproportionately barred or removed because broadly written foreign statutes are applied, raising fairness and disparate-impact concerns for racial and ethnic minority groups.
Immigrants applying for visas or asylum and the adjudicators who review those claims will face more complex determinations about foreign legal obligations, likely increasing delays and administrative burden for state and federal systems.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Adds inadmissibility and deportability grounds for aliens subject to foreign laws that require cooperation with foreign intelligence-gathering activities.
Official title: Amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to include subjection to a foreign intelligence security law as a ground of inadmissibility and deportability.
Introduced July 16, 2025 by Richard Lynn Scott · Last progress July 16, 2025
Adds a new immigration bar by making any noncitizen who is subject to a foreign law that requires cooperation with that country’s intelligence or security services inadmissible to the United States and removable if already present. The change amends the grounds for inadmissibility and deportability to cover persons subject to foreign intelligence-gathering laws regardless of other circumstances.