Border security and immigration

No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act

This bill imposes immigration-related penalties on certain non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who are involved with terrorism or attacks against Israel.

Under this bill, members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad or Hamas or individuals who participated in or otherwise facilitated the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel may not be admitted into the United States.

The bill also expands an existing admissions bar against officers, representatives, and spokespersons of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Under this bill, all PLO members are barred from admission into the United States.

The bill also prohibits any non-U.S. national who participated in or otherwise facilitated the October 7, 2023, attacks from seeking any immigration-related relief or protections, including (1) protection from being deported to a country where the individual's life or freedom would be threatened, or (2) asylum in the United States.

The Department of Homeland Security must annually report to Congress the number of individuals found to be inadmissible or deportable due to their participation in or facilitation of the attacks.

Uyghur Policy Act of 2025

This bill addresses human rights issues concerning the Uyghurs and other minority groups residing primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in China.

The bill directs the Department of State to prioritize policies and programs to support the Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the XUAR and to lead coordination efforts for the release of certain political prisoners in the XUAR.

The State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs may make certain funds available to human rights advocates working on behalf of Uyghurs and members of other persecuted minority groups from the XUAR. The funds shall be used to facilitate the presence of such human rights advocates at public diplomacy forums to speak on issues related to the human rights and religious freedoms of persecuted minority groups in China.

The State Department must ensure that Uyghur language training is available to Foreign Service officers. It must also ensure that a Uyghur-speaking member of the Foreign Service is assigned to U.S. diplomatic and consular posts in China.

Strategic Homeland Intelligence and Enforcement Legislation to Defend Against the CCP Act or the SHIELD Against CCP Act

This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to form a working group tasked with duties related to countering terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port security, and transportation security threats posed to the United States by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The working group must assess and annually report on current DHS efforts to counter the CCP’s (1) use of the U.S. immigration system, (2) economic and trade practices, and (3) support for illicit financial activity and trafficking controlled substances. The working group must terminate seven years after its establishment.

DHS must additionally carry out research and development on technologies and techniques for enhancing its security and situational awareness to these threats.

The Government Accountability Office must report on the implementation of this bill.

Providing Emotional Assistance with Relief and Love Act or the PEARL Act

This bill requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to establish a pilot program to adopt dogs from local animal shelters to be trained as support dogs for CBP’s Support Canine Program. Support dogs are used for grief assistance, trauma mitigation, and morale.

Northern Border Security Enhancement and Review Act

This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to regularly perform a threat analysis of the northern U.S. border.

The analysis must be performed every three years and include terroristic and criminal threats, recent changes in apprehensions, and improvements needed to prevent terrorism and reduce criminal activity.

DHS must update its northern border strategy not later than September 2, 2026, and every five years thereafter, incorporating the results from the latest threat analysis. DHS must also provide a classified briefing to the appropriate congressional committees.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) must develop performance metrics to assess the AMO’s effectiveness at securing the northern border between ports of entry in air and maritime environments.

Economic Espionage Prevention Act

This bill authorizes the President to impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on foreign adversary entities that knowingly engage in (1) economic and industrial espionage with respect to trade secrets and proprietary information owned by U.S. persons, (2) the provision of material support or services to a foreign adversaries' national security entities, or (3) the violation of U.S. export control laws. The bill cites regulations that define China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and the Maduro regime of Venezuela as foreign adversaries.

The bill also limits certain exemptions from the President's authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). IEEPA provides the President broad authority to regulate a variety of economic transactions following a declaration of national emergency, but exempts from this authority activities such as (1) the import or export of information or informational materials; (2) transactions ordinarily incident to international travel, such as the importation of personal baggage; and (3) personal communications, such as postal or telephonic communications, that do not transfer anything of value. Under the bill, the first two of these exemptions are not applicable if the President determines such imports and exports would seriously impair the ability to deal with a declared national emergency. Additionally, the bill specifies that the first and third exemptions listed above do not apply to bulk sensitive personal data or source code used in a connected software application.

Tehran Incitement to Violence Act

This bill requires the Department of State to periodically determine if individuals and entities specified by the bill are subject to existing sanctions, such as those with the purpose of preventing terrorist activity, human rights abuses, and corruption, as well as sanctions aimed specifically at activity in Iran.

The State Department must submit such determinations not later than 90 days after enactment of this bill and every 180 days thereafter for a period not to exceed six years.

This bill requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to link the applications of family members (parents, legal guardians, children, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings residing within a single household) throughout the NEXUS application process (an expedited border inspections program between the United-States and Canada).

CBP must permit a family member to schedule NEXUS interviews for all linked family members and may provide linked family members the option to participate in joint interviews.

CBP may exempt from the interview process a child under 14 years of age who is linked to an eligible family member.

Combatting International Drug Trafficking and Human Smuggling Partnership Act of 2025

This bill expands permitted U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) activities in foreign countries and provides for tort claims against the United States for certain CBP operations in foreign countries.

The bill allows officers and agents of the Air and Marine Operations of CBP to provide specified support to the government of foreign countries. In particular, officers and agents may provide support for

• monitoring, locating, and deterring the smuggling of illegal drugs, persons, or goods into the United States;

• tracking terrorist or other threats to the United States;

• emergency humanitarian efforts; and

• law enforcement capacity-building efforts.

The bill also allows CBP to expend appropriated funds to pay claims for money damages made against the United States that arise in a foreign country in connection with CBP operations. This includes money damages for injury, loss of property, personal injury, or death caused by certain acts or omissions of an employee of the agency while acting within the scope of his or her office or employment. Under current law, acts occurring in foreign countries are excepted from the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Claims made under the bill must be made no more than two years after the date of the incident. The authority to expend funds for such damages expires five years after the date of enactment of the bill.

One-Stop Pilot Program Extension Act

This bill revises and extends the One Stop Security program of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Under this pilot program, eligible passengers and their checked baggage arriving in the United States from certain foreign airports with connecting flights may be eligible to continue without additional TSA security re-screening.

The bill extends the pilot program through December 23, 2032, from the current December 23, 2028.

The bill also revises the security requirements for excluding checked baggage from additional TSA security re-screening. Among other things, the bill specifies that a passenger must be unable to access their checked baggage until arrival at their final destination and that U.S. Customs and Border Protection must have received timely images of the baggage from the participating foreign airport prior to a passenger’s arrival in the United States.

This joint resolution nullifies the rule titled Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Marketplace Integrity and Affordability, which was issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on June 25, 2025.

The rule makes several changes to enrollment requirements for health insurance exchanges, including (1) requiring annual open enrollment periods for all exchanges to begin by November 1 and end by December 31, (2) requiring all exchanges to conduct pre-enrollment verification of eligibility for at least 75% of new enrollments through special enrollment periods, and (3) prohibiting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients from enrolling in plans through exchanges or in state Basic Health Programs (state programs for certain low-income residents).

The rule also prohibits individual and small group health insurers from covering certain sex-trait modification procedures as an essential health benefit.

Health Care Freedom for Patients Act of 2025

This bill allows certain individuals with health savings accounts (HSAs) to receive federal payments. It also restricts payments under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) regarding certain noncitizens and restricts coverage of gender-transition procedures.

Specifically, the bill provides funds for the Department of Health and Human Services to deposit payments into an individual’s HSA during 2026-2027 if the individual has a bronze or catastrophic plan through a health insurance exchange, is between the ages of 18 and 64, and has income up to 700% of the federal poverty level (FPL). Individuals may receive $1,000 or $1,500 annually, depending on age.

The bill also provides funds, beginning in 2027, for cost-sharing reductions for certain individuals who have a silver plan and income up to 250% of the FPL.

Beginning in 2027, the bill allows any individual to enroll in a catastrophic plan. Currently, these plans are limited to those under the age of 30 or who have certain exemptions.

The bill also reduces the enhanced federal matching rate for the Medicaid expansion population in states that provide any health benefits for individuals who are not qualified aliens under federal law. The bill makes Medicaid and CHIP coverage of individuals while their status is being verified optional and conditions federal payment during this period on verification.

Finally, the bill prohibits exchange plans from covering gender-transition procedures as an essential health benefit and prohibits federal payment under Medicaid and CHIP for these procedures.

Special Interest Alien Reporting Act of 2024 [sic]

This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to report every month on non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) who attempt to unlawfully enter the United States and who potentially pose a national security risk. DHS must report on (1) the number of individuals, (2) the nationalities or countries of last residence of these individuals, and (3) the location of the encounters.

Deport Alien Gang Members Act

This bill makes non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) associated with criminal gangs inadmissible for entry into the United States and deportable. The bill also establishes procedures to designate groups as criminal gangs.

An individual shall be inadmissible if certain officers or agencies know or have reason to believe that the individual is or was a criminal gang member or has participated or aided such a group's illegal activities. An individual who is or was a member of such a gang, has participated or aided such a group's illegal activities, or seeks to enter or has entered the United States in furtherance of such activity shall be deportable.

Such individuals must be subject to mandatory detention. Furthermore, such individuals shall not be eligible for (1) asylum; (2) temporary protected status; (3) special immigrant juvenile visas; or (4) parole, unless they are assisting the government in a law enforcement matter.

The bill defines a criminal gang as a group of five or more persons (1) where one of its primary purposes is committing specified criminal offenses and its members have engaged in a continuing series of such offenses within the past five years, or (2) that has been designated as a criminal gang by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The bill also establishes procedures for DHS to designate a group as a criminal gang, including notifying Congress, publishing a notice in the Federal Register, and providing an opportunity for the group to petition for review of the designation.

Providing Emotional Assistance with Relief and Love Act or the PEARL Act

This bill requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to establish a pilot program to adopt dogs from local animal shelters to be trained as support dogs for CBP’s Support Canine Program. Support dogs are used for grief assistance, trauma mitigation, and morale.

Rapid Expulsion of Migrant Offenders who Violate and Evade Act or the REMOVE Act

This bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to complete removal proceedings in immigration court not later than 15 days after commencement. Further, after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement files with an immigration court a notice to appear that has been served to an individual, DOJ must commence removal proceedings as promptly as possible.

Shadow Wolves Improvement Act

This bill allows for the revision of the federal employment classification of the Shadow Wolves, a tactical patrol unit in Homeland Security Investigations currently operating on the lands of the Tohono O'odham Nation in Arizona on the U.S.-Mexico border, and establishes other requirements related to the expansion of the Shadow Wolves program.

Specifically, the bill allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to noncompetitively convert certain special agents serving in the Shadow Wolves program from the excepted service to the competitive service. Competitive service positions in the federal government are subject to examinations and a statutorily defined hiring process. These agents must have served in the unit for three years to qualify for the conversion regardless of the location assigned.

In coordination with appropriate representatives of partnering tribal governments, including the Tohono O'odham Nation, ICE must (1) specify the mission and goals of the Shadow Wolves program, and (2) update the strategy for the expansion of the program.

Additionally, ICE must (1) determine national staffing needs and required skills for the program, (2) provide current Shadow Wolves classified as officers written information about reclassifying as special agents, (3) develop a succession plan for anticipated retirements among agents in the program, and (4) develop criteria for evaluating and selecting additional tribal lands on which additional Shadow Wolves units may be located.

ICE must report to specified congressional committees regarding the implementation of this bill.