Today, Congresswomen Deborah Ross (NC-02) and Becca Balint (VT-AL), members of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced the Land of the Free Act. This legislation would repeal Section 237(a)(4)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which grants the Secretary of State the power to deport visa-holders and legal permanent residents whose presence in the United States would have “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
Since taking office in January, President Trump and his administration have tried to use this power to deport visa-holders and legal permanent residents who are exercising their constitutionally protected right to free speech. Up until this administration, it was used sparingly, only 15 times in 35 years. However, now the executive branch is abusing this power and using it to try to deport individuals whose speech it finds inconvenient.
“Since day one, the Trump administration has continually violated the constitutionally protected free speech rights of immigrants in this country,” said Congresswoman Ross. “We cannot let this corrupt administration go unchecked and undeterred. That’s why Congresswoman Balint and I are introducing legislation to curb their abuse of federal law to deport individuals who they disagree with. The freedom of speech is a foundational principle of our democracy, and I urge my colleagues to join us in this important fight to protect it.”
“The Trump administration is using any excuse they can to deport people for speech they don’t like,” said Congresswoman Balint. “But Americans know the Constitution guarantees people within our borders the most basic of rights including due process and free speech. This administration has ignored those fundamental rights to flex their authoritarian power and remove people they disagree with. Rep. Ross and I won’t let them continue to trample on our rights. It's time we take away the Trump administration's power to arbitrarily detain people and firmly protect everyone's right to free speech in this country.”
This legislation is endorsed by American Civil Liberties Union, Indivisible, MPower Change Action Fund, and Demand Progress.
“The First Amendment protects everyone on US soil, citizen or not,” said Jenna Leventoff, Senior Policy Counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. “If someone can be detained and deported because of their political beliefs, then the free speech rights of each and every person in the United States are in serious danger. The ability to speak out and protest is foundational to our democracy, and we thank Reps. Ross and Balint for working to ensure that dissent cannot be grounds for deportation."
“We support the Land of the Free Act because no president should be able to leapfrog bedrock constitutional rights and declare someone a threat to the nation on a whim,” said Demand Progress Policy Director Emily Peterson-Cassin. “Without this needed bill, student activists like Mohsen Mahdawi and Mahmoud Kahlil could be just the first of many victims frivolously punished by the government for merely exercising their free speech rights. We thank Reps. Ross and Balint for fighting to defend the free speech fights of all Americans.”
"The Land of the Free Act is a key to protecting the very foundation of our democracy: freedom of speech, political opinion, protest, and dissent,” said Andrew O'Neill, National Advocacy Director, Indivisible. “Over the last eight months, we’ve seen in the cases of Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Öztürk, and others how Section 237(a)(4)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act can be weaponized to silence and punish anyone whose views the administration opposes—undocumented, legal status, or citizen alike. This provision has been abused to target students, journalists, and community leaders critical of U.S. foreign and immigration policy. This new legislation would establish a clear line: in the U.S., we do not exile people for exercising their constitutional rights. Political repression anywhere is a threat to freedom everywhere. We thank Congresswomen Ross and Balint for introducing this bill and standing firm in safeguarding our right to free speech, dissent, and political expression.”
"As the largest Muslim digital advocacy organization with more than 500,000 members nationwide, MPower Change Action Fund is proud to endorse the Land of the Free Act of 2025," said Yasmine Taeb, Legislative and Political Director at MPower Change Action Fund. "We applaud Rep. Becca Balint and Rep. Deborah Ross's leadership in introducing this legislation to repeal Section 237(a)(4)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, an obsolete Cold War-era provision used and abused by the Trump Administration to abduct, detain, and threaten with deportation Mahmoud Khalil, Rümeysa Öztürk, Badar Khan Suri, Mohsen Mahdawi and other students and scholars exercising their First Amendment protected rights. We urge House members to cosponsor the Land of the Free Act of 2025 and call for its swift passage."
Bill text is available here.