Bill expands terrorism grounds for deportation to include speech endorsing designated groups

What it does

This bill amends immigration law to codify that officers, officials, representatives, spokespersons, and members of Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, Palestine Islamic Jihad, and ISIS—as well as individuals who endorse or espouse terrorist activities by these groups—are engaged in terrorist activity and therefore inadmissible to the United States. It expands the existing bar on PLO members to include these five designated terrorist organizations and their successors or affiliates.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is to expand the statutory definition of terrorist activity for immigration purposes, adding five named organizations and an endorsement standard to existing inadmissibility grounds. This is a straightforward counterterrorism measure, not a tax, appropriations, or commemorative bill.

What the text implies

• The 'endorses or espouses terrorist activities' language is undefined and may capture speech, political statements, or academic discussion unrelated to material support or direct organizational membership, creating a speech-based deportation ground.
• The bill does not define what constitutes 'endorsement' or 'espousal'—a court or immigration officer must interpret this, creating inconsistent application risk across cases.
• Successor and affiliate groups are not enumerated, leaving DHS/State to designate them administratively without explicit congressional approval for each entity.
• The bill does not address individuals who may have been coerced into membership or who have renounced affiliation, potentially catching reformed or unwilling members.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill strengthens immigration enforcement against designated terrorist organizations, which serves national security and public safety interests. However, the inclusion of language barring those who 'endorse or espouse terrorist activities' creates potential for overbroad application—speech-based grounds for deportation or inadmissibility may chill legitimate political expression or catch individuals with tenuous connections to the organizations, raising due-process and free-speech concerns.

Named in the bill

Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, Palestine Islamic Jihad, ISIS, Palestine Liberation Organization, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Immigration and Nationality Act

Where it stands

3 cosponsors: 3 Republicans.

• Jun 11, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jun 11, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $40,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 4 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

August Pfluger, the sponsor, reported $1,070,325 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Competitive Markets Action, Inc. — $40,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 19, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.