GOP Hardliner Proposes Immigration Ban from Islamic Nations, US Adversaries Following Texas Shooting

In a move echoing former President Donald Trump’s controversial 2017 executive order, Tennessee Republican Representative Andy Ogles announced plans to introduce legislation that would halt immigration from several predominantly Muslim countries and other U.S. adversaries.

The proposed bill, titled the “Halt Immigration from Countries with Inadequate Verification Capabilities Act” (HICIVA), would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to ban entry from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. The legislation describes these nations as regions “where the government or prevailing conditions do not allow for reliable verification of the identities, backgrounds, or intentions” of travelers seeking U.S. entry.

The ban would extend to individuals who have resided in any of these countries within five years of their attempted entry, though U.S. citizens would be exempt.

“Mass Islamic immigration, legal or illegal, has transformed America and brought destructive consequences,” Ogles said in a statement announcing the legislation. “America’s moral exemplar is a meek carpenter who rose from the dead, not a warmonger with 12 wives and countless slaves. My bill will preserve this truth.”

The timing of Ogles’ announcement follows a deadly shooting in Austin, Texas, that left three people dead and more than a dozen injured. While authorities have not definitively established a motive, police discovered the suspect, 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne, wearing a hoodie marked “property of Allah.” A search of Diagne’s home also revealed an Iranian flag and photos of Islamic leaders.

Diagne was killed during a confrontation with law enforcement on Sunday.

The shooting occurred just one day after the United States conducted military strikes against Iran alongside Israel, targeting the country’s military leadership. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reportedly killed in Saturday’s operation, which U.S. officials described as necessary to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis acknowledged that investigators are considering recent geopolitical events as they evaluate the shooting. “We’re looking at the totality of this. We see these indicators, we’re thinking about events and what’s occurring in the country as well. The motives – all of those things, that’s what the investigation is about right now,” Davis said during a press conference.

Ogles’ rhetoric around the proposed legislation goes beyond security concerns, directly criticizing Islam itself. “In 2017, President Trump rightly called out the unassimilable nature of those from Islamic nations, and I want to make it statute,” Ogles stated. “America is no place for a religion that endorses pedophilia, sex slavery, polygamy, abuse of women and the murder of Christians.”

The congressman’s reference to Trump’s 2017 executive order recalls a contentious period in U.S. immigration policy. That order sought to ban travel from the same six countries in Ogles’ bill, plus Iraq, for 90 days. The Supreme Court ultimately upheld Trump’s authority to enact these restrictions in Trump v. Hawaii, determining that the former president had acted out of security concerns rather than religious animus.

According to Ogles’ office, Florida Republican Representative Randy Fine will join the bill as an original sponsor.

The proposal comes amid heightened national security concerns and increasing polarization over immigration policy. Critics of similar measures have historically argued that such bans discriminate against Muslims and fail to address the complex nature of terrorism threats, while supporters maintain they are necessary security measures to protect American citizens.

The bill faces an uncertain future in the current Congress, where it would need support in both chambers to advance to the president’s desk. Immigration policy remains one of the most divisive issues in American politics, with sharp partisan divisions over border security, refugee resettlement, and the appropriate vetting of foreign nationals.