Proposed US Bill Could Strip Passports Over Political Views

US passport. Credit: bryansblog / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0

A caller measure nether reappraisal successful Congress could springiness the US State Department wide authorization to revoke oregon contradict passports based connected an individual’s governmental expression, including disapproval of overseas governments.

Civil liberties organizations pass that the authorities whitethorn endanger Americans’ close to escaped code and planetary question without owed process.

The measure, introduced by Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida and seat of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is portion of a broader program to reorganize the State Department. The measure is scheduled for treatment successful a committee proceeding connected Wednesday.

Although the connection is framed arsenic a instrumentality to combat coercion and quality trafficking, ineligible analysts and advocacy groups accidental the connection is overly vague and leaves country for misuse.

One conception allows the Secretary of State to contradict oregon revoke a passport for anyone convicted—or simply charged—with providing worldly enactment to terrorism. Another proviso gives akin authorization implicit individuals believed to person supported immoderate radical labeled arsenic a overseas violent organization.

Critics pass of menace to escaped code and question rights

Civil rights advocates accidental the measure could acceptable a unsafe precedent by equating governmental opinions with transgression behavior. Seth Stern, advocacy manager astatine the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said the connection whitethorn assistance unchecked powerfulness to authorities officials.

He warned that it could beryllium utilized to penalize individuals for their views alone, careless of whether they engaged successful amerciable activity.

Congressman Brian Mast has introduced a measure that would let the State Department to revoke the passports of Americans who reason Israel.

Under the legislation, anyone the State Department determines has “knowingly aided, assisted, abetted, oregon different provided material… pic.twitter.com/1ogy1zq7oy

— AF Post (@AFpost) September 13, 2025

Recent authorities actions against individuals expressing enactment for Palestine person intensified concerns. In March, a Turkish doctoral student, Rumeysa Ozturk, had her U.S. visa revoked aft publishing an nonfiction captious of Israel. A national justice aboriginal overturned the decision.

In different case, Palestinian greenish paper holder Mahmoud Khalil faced deportation proceedings aft being labeled a Hamas sympathizer—despite not being charged with a crime.

These examples person raised alarm among escaped code advocates, who fearfulness that the measure could legitimize akin actions against American citizens and residents.

Appeals process called inadequate by ineligible experts

While the measure includes an appeals process that allows affected individuals to situation passport revocations wrong 60 days, the entreaty indispensable beryllium made to the aforesaid Secretary of State liable for the decision.

Legal experts reason this does not supply a just oregon autarkic reappraisal and fails to connection meaningful extortion against authorities overreach.

Kia Hamadanchy, elder argumentation counsel astatine the American Civil Liberties Union, said the measure appears unnecessary, fixed that those convicted of terrorism are already taxable to terrible penalties.

Similar legislative efforts person drawn disapproval successful caller months, including proposals that would let the Treasury Department to revoke nonprofit presumption from organizations deemed to enactment terrorism.

Civil liberties groups from crossed the governmental spectrum proceed to explicit heavy interest implicit what they presumption arsenic attempts to grow authorities surveillance and power based connected ideological grounds.