{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.budd.senate.gov/2025/11/20/senator-budd-leads-colleagues-in-effort-to-ban-terrorist-sympathizers-from-the-united-states/", "Senator Budd Leads Colleagues in Effort to Ban Terrorist Sympathizers from the United States", "2025-11-20", "2025", "2025-11", "Republican", "Senate", "NC", "Ted Budd", "B001305", "www.budd.senate.gov", "budd", "https://www.budd.senate.gov/category/news/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) introduced the Terrorist Inadmissibility Codification Act today to close loopholes in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The bill expands the existing INA provision that bans officers, officials, representatives, or spokesmen of the Palestine Liberation Organization to additionally include any member or anyone who publicly endorses the terrorist activities of Hamas, Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Palestine Islamic Jihad, or any successor or affiliate group, from receiving a visa or admission into the United States.\n\n\u201cEver since the horrific terrorist attacks of October 7, we have seen a dramatic rise in pro-Hamas rhetoric across our country, including from international students here on visas. This needs to stop. Those seeking to come to the U.S., whether for school, work, or otherwise, and who publicly endorse Foreign Terrorist Organizations, must face consequences for their actions. The Terrorist Inadmissibility Codification Act will close ambiguous loopholes in our immigration law by prohibiting them from entering our borders,\u201d said Senator Budd.\n\n\u201cFreedom of speech does not protect terrorism and calls to terror. We\u2019re strengthening the law so terrorists and their supporters can go hate us somewhere else,\u201d said Dr. Cassidy.\n\n\u201cWe have a fundamental responsibility to protect American citizens and our allies from those who would spread hatred and violence on our soil. This legislation simply codifies what should be common sense: if you\u2019re a member of or spokesperson for Hamas, Hezbollah, or other terrorist organizations\u2014or if you publicly endorse their barbaric acts\u2014you have no right to enter or remain in the United States. We saw the disgusting displays on college campuses after October 7th, and this bill ensures we have the statutory tools to prevent terrorist sympathizers from exploiting our visa system,\u201d said Senator Lummis.\n\n\u201cThe October 7 terrorist attacks were a dark day for the world. Since those attacks, we have witnessed a disturbing rise in pro-Hamas support among foreign visa holders inside the United States. The Terrorist Inadmissibility Codification Act would ensure that an alien who backs Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, or any other group supporting the Palestine Liberation Organization is deemed inadmissible to the United States,\u201d said Senator Blackburn.\n\n\u201cOur nation has learned the hard lesson that when terrorists come into our country, they harm Americans. I\u2019m proud to join Senator Budd and our colleagues in this commonsense effort to further prevent terrorist sympathizers and associates from coming to the U.S., threatening our national security, and spreading their anti-American propaganda and hatred,\u201d said Senator McCormick.\n\n\u201cIsrael is our strongest ally in the Middle East and those who sympathize with terrorists like Hamas and Hezbollah have absolutely no place in our country. I\u2019m proud to join Senator Budd and our colleagues in introducing this bill to keep our nation safe and send a strong signal across the globe that America will not tolerate any form of violent antisemitism,\u201d said Senator Daines.\n\n\u201cIn the aftermath of Hamas\u2019 unprovoked attack on Israel two years ago, we\u2019ve seen an alarming wave of antisemitic, pro-terrorist advocacy by foreign visa holders present in the U.S. who seek to do Americans harm. By broadening the Immigration and Nationality Act, this commonsense legislation would ensure those who support or sympathize with terrorist groups and their affiliates are inadmissible to the United States, and I\u2019m proud to support it,\u201d said Senator Cornyn.\n\n\u201cTerrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda seek to murder Americans. Their terrorist members, spokesmen, and supporters should not be allowed into our country. This bill will keep Americans safe,\u201d said Senator Ricketts.\n\n\u201cAmerica must never be a safe haven for anyone who supports terrorist organizations or celebrates violence against our ally, Israel. After the horrific terrorist attacks on October 7, we saw individuals in this country openly praising Hamas and other foreign terrorist groups. That is unacceptable. This bill makes crystal clear in federal law that any individual in the U.S. on a visa who openly support Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, or any other terrorist organization, is not welcome in the United States. We are closing dangerous loopholes and standing firmly with Israel, with the Jewish community, and with America\u2019s commitment to fight terrorism at every turn,\u201d said Senator Scott.\n\n\u201cThere is no place in America for foreign adversaries or terrorist sympathizers. As our nation faces a disturbing rise in antisemitic and illegal alien terror attacks, along with increasing pro-Hamas sentiment on our college campuses, we must take action to ensure our borders are secure from those wishing harm against Americans. The Terrorist Inadmissibility Codification Act would take a critical step in that effort,\u201d said Representative Pfluger.\n\nU.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) joined Senator Budd in introducing this legislation.\n\nU.S. Representative August Pfluger (R-Texas-11) previously introduced the legislation in the House of Representatives.\n\nRead the full bill text HERE.\n\nBACKGROUND\n\nFollowing the terrorist attacks on October 7, 2023, there has been a wave of anti-Israel, antisemitic, and pro-Hamas advocacy by foreign visa holders present in the United States, as well as visa applicants seeking to enter the country.\n\nThe Trump administration has revoked the visas of individuals who engaged in pro-Hamas advocacy and tightened the vetting process to detect such advocacy conducted by visa applicants.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.budd.senate.gov/2025/11/20/senator-budd-leads-colleagues-in-effort-to-ban-terrorist-sympathizers-from-the-united-states/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9564189240336418, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}