No Censors on our Shores Act of 2025
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Would make foreign government officials who censored American speech inadmissible and deportable under U.S. immigration law. The bill targets officials who, while acting in an official capacity, committed acts against U.S. citizens on U.S. soil that would have violated the First Amendment if done by an American official.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would add two new grounds to the Immigration and Nationality Act: one for inadmissibility and one for deportability. Both would apply to any non-U.S. national who, at any time while serving as a foreign government official, was directly responsible for or carried out an act against a U.S. citizen located in the United States that would have violated the First Amendment to the Constitution if committed by a U.S. government official on U.S. soil. The test is a counterfactual — would the same act, if done by an American official, have crossed First Amendment lines?
The bill does not define which specific acts qualify or create a separate enforcement mechanism beyond attaching the new grounds to existing inadmissibility and deportability proceedings. It would apply retroactively to conduct that occurred "at any time," not just after the law's enactment.
Key provisions
- 1Would add a new inadmissibility ground barring any foreign government official who committed acts against a U.S. citizen in the United States that would violate the First Amendment if done by a U.S. official.
- 2Would add a parallel deportability ground allowing removal of foreign officials already in the United States on the same First Amendment-violation standard.
- 3Both grounds apply retroactively to conduct committed 'at any time' while the individual served as a foreign government official.
Who would be affected
Foreign government officials who have taken actions — such as suppressing speech, pressuring platforms, or targeting journalists — that would be unconstitutional censorship if carried out by a U.S. official. U.S. citizens who were targets of such conduct in the United States would be the protected class. Immigration courts and consular officers would apply the new grounds in visa and removal proceedings.
Why it matters
Foreign officials who targeted American speech or press freedom could be barred from entering or remaining in the United States, giving U.S. immigration law a new tool against state-sponsored censorship. Because the conduct threshold is retroactive with no time limit, officials who acted years ago could also face consequences if they seek a visa or are already present in the country.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2) (Sec. 2(a))
Adds a new subparagraph (J) creating a censorship-based inadmissibility ground for foreign government officials who suppressed American speech.
Amends Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2) (Sec. 2(b))
Adds a new subparagraph (G) creating a censorship-based deportability ground for foreign government officials already in the United States.
Agencies directed to act
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 1071 would have no significant effect on the federal deficit, with any changes to direct spending or costs to implement the bill falling between -$500,000 and zero over the 2025–2035 period.
H.R. 1071 would make foreign government officials inadmissible to or deportable from the United States if they violated the First Amendment rights of U.S. citizens while on U.S. soil. CBO estimates that only a small number of people would be affected, as it expects few such officials would meet the bill's criteria. Any reduction in direct spending (mandatory spending, such as emergency Medicaid, for which currently lawful aliens may be eligible) would be negligible — between -$500,000 and zero — in any year and over the 2025–2035 scoring window. The cost to implement the bill (discretionary spending subject to annual appropriations) would also not be significant, and CBO identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates.
How implementation would work
The bill would work through existing immigration-enforcement machinery. Consular officers abroad would apply the new inadmissibility ground when adjudicating visa applications; Customs and Border Protection would apply it at ports of entry. The Department of Homeland Security could initiate removal proceedings against any covered alien already in the United States under the new deportability ground. No new agency, rulemaking process, or reporting requirement is created; determinations would turn on whether the alien's official conduct meets the First Amendment counterfactual standard.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 523.
Official CRS summary
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This bill makes certain non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who were involved in conduct that would have been in violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution if it had occurred in the United States (1) inadmissible for entry into the United States, and (2) deportable.
Specifically, the bill applies to an individual who, while serving as a foreign government official, carried out or was responsible for activity against a U.S. citizen located in the United States that would have violated the First Amendment if committed by a U.S. government official in the United States.
Legislative subjects
Border security and unlawful immigration; First Amendment rights; Immigration; Immigration status and procedures; Subversive activities
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-603