[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7964 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7964

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit the admission 
    of aliens from certain countries where the United States cannot 
 reliably verify the identities or backgrounds of individuals seeking 
    entry, building upon the framework established by Presidential 
 Proclamation 9645 and upheld by the Supreme Court in Trump v. Hawaii, 
                585 U.S. (2018), and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 17, 2026

 Mr. Ogles (for himself, Mr. Fine, Mr. Donalds, and Mrs. Harshbarger) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit the admission 
    of aliens from certain countries where the United States cannot 
 reliably verify the identities or backgrounds of individuals seeking 
    entry, building upon the framework established by Presidential 
 Proclamation 9645 and upheld by the Supreme Court in Trump v. Hawaii, 
                585 U.S. (2018), and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Halt Immigration from Countries with 
Inadequate Verification Capabilities Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Supreme Court, in Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. (2018), 
        upheld the President's authority to restrict entry from 
        countries posing national security risks due to inadequate 
        information-sharing and verification capabilities, affirming 
        that such measures are within the executive's broad discretion 
        under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and 
        do not violate the Establishment Clause when facially neutral 
        and justified by legitimate national security concerns.
            (2) Presidential Proclamation 9645 (issued September 24, 
        2017) identified countries with deficient identity-management 
        practices, inadequate information-sharing on public-safety and 
        terrorism threats, or other risk factors, including Iran, 
        Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen, as 
        warranting entry restrictions.
            (3) Expanding such restrictions to additional countries 
        meeting similar criteria, such as those with ongoing 
        instability, state-sponsored terrorism, or failure to cooperate 
        in verification processes, is necessary to protect U.S. 
        national security, consistent with the precedents set in Trump 
        v. Hawaii and prior executive actions.
            (4) This Act builds upon the upheld framework to include 
        countries like Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, and the Central 
        African Republic, where reliable verification of individuals' 
        identities and backgrounds is not feasible due to governance 
        failures, conflict, or adversarial policies.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``designated country'' means--
                    (A) Somalia;
                    (B) any country identified in Presidential 
                Proclamation 9645, as upheld in Trump v. Hawaii, 
                including Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, 
                and Yemen; and
                    (C) any other country designated by the Secretary 
                of State, in consultation with the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security and the Director of National 
                Intelligence, as a country where the government or 
                prevailing conditions do not allow for reliable 
                verification of the identities, backgrounds, or 
                intentions of individuals seeking admission to the 
                United States, based on factors such as inadequate 
                information sharing, lack of diplomatic cooperation, 
                state failure, or heightened national security risks, 
                including but not limited to Afghanistan, Sudan, 
                Eritrea, and the Central African Republic.
            (2) The term ``alien'' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 101(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1101(a)(3)).
            (3) The term ``admission'' has the meaning given such term 
        in section 101(a)(13) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
        U.S.C. 1101(a)(13)).

SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON ADMISSION OF ALIENS FROM DESIGNATED COUNTRIES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of 
State and the Director of National Intelligence, shall prohibit the 
admission of any alien who is a national of, or who has resided in, a 
designated country during the 5-year period preceding the date of 
application for admission.
    (b) Exceptions.--The prohibition under subsection (a) shall not 
apply to--
            (1) an alien who is a lawful permanent resident of the 
        United States;
            (2) an alien admitted as a refugee or granted asylum prior 
        to the date of enactment of this Act;
            (3) an alien serving in the United States Armed Forces or 
        any immediate family member of that alien;
            (4) an alien traveling on a diplomatic visa issued by that 
        alien's country of origin; or
            (5) an alien whose admission is deemed by the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security to be in the national interest, on a case-by-
        case basis, including students and certain nonimmigrant 
        categories subject to enhanced screening as referenced in 
        Presidential Proclamation 9645.
    (c) Waiver Authority.--The Secretary of Homeland Security may waive 
the application of subsection (a) for an alien if the Secretary 
determines that such waiver is necessary for humanitarian reasons or to 
ensure compliance with international obligations, consistent with the 
waiver processes upheld in Trump v. Hawaii.

SEC. 5. DESIGNATION AND REVIEW PROCESS.

    (a) Initial Designations.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall publish in the 
Federal Register a list of designated countries under section 3(1)(C), 
including the rationale for each designation, with reference to the 
verification standards outlined in Presidential Proclamation 9645 and 
the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Hawaii.
    (b) Annual Review.--The Secretary of State shall review the list of 
designated countries annually and may add or remove countries based on 
updated assessments of verification capabilities and national security 
risks, similar to the reviews conducted under prior executive orders. 
Any changes shall be published in the Federal Register with a 30-day 
notice period.
    (c) Congressional Oversight.--The Secretary of State shall submit 
to the appropriate congressional committees an annual report detailing 
the designations, including classified annexes as necessary.

SEC. 6. ENHANCED VETTING PROCEDURES.

    (a) Development.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
coordination with the Secretary of State, shall develop and implement 
enhanced vetting procedures for aliens from designated countries who 
may qualify for exceptions or waivers under section 4, drawing from the 
procedures established in Presidential Proclamation 9645.
    (b) Implementation Timeline.--Such procedures shall be implemented 
not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES.

    (a) Enforcement.--The provisions of this Act shall be enforced in 
accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 
seq.).
    (b) Penalties.--Any alien who attempts to enter the United States 
in violation of this Act shall be subject to removal proceedings and 
barred from reentry for a period of 10 years.

SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act, or the application of such provision 
to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of this 
Act, and the application of such provision to other persons or 
circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.

SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall take effect on the date that is 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act.
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