Washington, D.C. – Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas) introduced a legislative proposal on Monday, April 20, 2026, aimed at significantly altering U.S. immigration law. Dubbed the "Measures Against Marxism’s Dangerous Adherents and Noxious Islamists (MAMDANI) Act," the bill seeks to expand grounds for deportation, denaturalization, and denial of entry or citizenship for immigrants associated with specific political and religious doctrines.
The proposed legislation would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to target any individual who is a member of, or advocates for, socialist, communist, Chinese communist, Marxist, or Islamic fundamentalist doctrines or parties. According to the bill's text, "advocates" is broadly defined to include "writing, districting, circulating, printing, displaying, possessing, or publishing any written, electronic, or printed matter" in support of these ideologies. Exemptions are provided for advocacy that occurred before the age of 14.
The act's acronym, MAMDANI, directly references New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D), a democratic socialist who is Muslim and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018. Rep. Roy's office explicitly cited "the very presence of Zohran Mamdani and those like him who champion Marxist ideologies" as evidence that the current immigration system "enables the mass importation of Marxists and Islamists."
In a press release, Rep. Roy articulated the rationale behind the bill, stating, "Why do we continue to import people who hate us?" He argued that the U.S. immigration system has been "cynically used to disadvantage American workers’ competitiveness in favor of mass-importing the third world," leading to "higher crime and lower wages, but also the promulgation of hostile ideologies fundamentally opposed to American values." Roy emphasized that "admission to the United States is a privilege, not a right."
Critics have quickly voiced concerns, labeling the bill as "blatant Islamophobia" and an "assault on the First Amendment." Observers note that the legislation does not differentiate between democratic socialism and authoritarian forms of socialism or communism. Furthermore, the bill reportedly includes provisions that would make decisions under its authority final and not subject to judicial review, raising questions about due process. The MAMDANI Act follows Rep. Roy's previous introduction of the "Sharia-Free America Act" in October.
