Chip Roy's Shocking Immigration Freeze: Why His Bill Alarms Both Parties

Speaking on The Benny Show, hosted by American political commentator and YouTuber Benny Johnson, Roy, a representative from Texas, said the proposed bill would halt all forms of immigration "until certain objectives are achieved."

He further outlined the bill's objectives, which also include vetting immigrants for adherence to Sharia law.

"I've got a bill that I'm going to be introducing that is a freeze on all immigration. Freeze it until we achieve certain objectives--reforming chain migration, ending H-1B visas, getting birthright citizenship dealt with, and vetting people for their adherence to Sharia law," Roy said.

The Texas lawmaker argued that the US faces what he described as a "massive Islamism problem" and warned of what he sees as a growing threat from communities unwilling to integrate into American society.

"We're dealing with a massive Islamism problem. We're dealing with a massive problem of the advancement of Sharia law. We're dealing with a mass community that is growing up and has no desire to assimilate and come here, to become American and embrace Western civilisation, embrace our Constitution, and embrace our values," he said during the interview.

Roy has been a vocal critic of immigration policies in the US and has called for tighter border controls and restrictions on visa programmes, such as the H-1B, aligning with the US President Donald Trump's administration.

The US administration, in an effort to curb the immigration issue, introduced a proclamation signed by Trump earlier in September that triggered a major overhaul of the H-1B visa petition process.

According to the proclamation, there will now be a USD 100,000 fee for new H-1B visa applications, a sharp increase from the previous level of about USD 1,500.

The US State Department later clarified that the new fee requirement applies only to individuals or companies filing new H-1B petitions or entering the H-1B lottery after September 21.

Current visa holders and petitions submitted before that date remain unaffected. Under the proclamation, a USD 100,000 payment must accompany every new H-1B visa petition filed after the deadline, including those submitted for entries in the 2026 lottery.

- ANI