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Far-right Rep. Chip Roy targets Democratic Socialists of America in latest anti-immigrant bill aimed at GOP’s political opponents
Alex Woodward in New York Monday 20 April 2026 21:39 BST- Bookmark
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A proposed bill from a top House Republican could be used to denaturalize U.S. citizens who “advocate” for socialism, including anyone who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America or any “affiliate” group, which includes New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and dozens of public office holders across the country.
Monday’s bill from Donald Trump ally and Republican Rep. Chip Roy, a leader in the far-right House Freedom Caucus, would radically expand the grounds for deporting, denying entry and stripping the citizenship of anyone in the country based on their real or perceived politics or ideology, echoing President Donald Trump’s attempts to “maximally pursue” denaturalization cases and remove tens of thousands of people from the U.S.
Roy’s bill — Measures Against Marxism’s Dangerous Adherents and Noxious Islamists, or MAMDANI Act — would amend the decades-old Immigration and Nationality Act to target any “alien” over “any membership, affiliation or advocacy of socialist, communist, Chinese communist, Marxist or Islamic fundamentalist doctrines.”
Trump and his allies have repeatedly used citizenship and immigration law as a cudgel in the president’s government-wide deportation project, with administration officials and Republican members of Congress routinely threatening to strip citizenship from their political opponents.
The Texas Republican’s latest escalation specifically targets Democratic Socialists of America, a political organizing group with more than 100,000 members, including Mamdani and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib.
open image in galleryRep. Chip Roy wants to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to target anyone affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, a large political organizing group whose members include New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (REUTERS)
open image in galleryMamdani, pictured with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, has been criticized for his socialist views (AFP via Getty Images)The bill’s text also broadly implicates any other group that discusses socialism, communism or Marxism, echoing largely defunct Red Scare-era laws that sought to identify and remove any perceived communists from the country.
Mamdani’s victory in last year’s mayoral election fueled a wave of right-wing Islamophobia and GOP calls for the return of Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the infamous Un-American Activities Committee. “New York City is on the verge of electing a socialist for mayor,” Republican Sen. Mike Collins wrote at the time. “Might be time to bring back the committee.”
Republican Rep. Andy Ogles demanded the Trump administration denaturalize and deport Mamdani, who was born in Uganda in 1991 and moved to New York with his family at seven in 1998. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018. Ogles sent a letter to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding a federal investigation to determine his citizenship should be stripped from him.
In a statement, Roy accused the U.S. of “mass-importing the third world” and “hostile ideologies fundamentally opposed to American values.”
Roy has posted from both his campaign and official accounts about Muslims, Islam or “sharia law” at least 244 times since January — the most of any member of Congress, The Washington Post reported last week.
open image in galleryThe bill’s text also broadly implicates any other group that discusses socialism, communism or Marxism, echoing largely defunct Red Scare-era laws that sought to identify and remove any perceived communists from the country (Getty Images)His latest legislation and a flurry of recent public statements — targeting a group that makes up a low-single-digit percentage of his state’s population — join a broader trend of Republicans leaning into Islamophobic rhetoric as the country slides towards midterm elections. Roy is not seeking re-election in Congress as he’s running for Texas Attorney General.
Roy’s bill, notably, excludes any reference to violent right-wing ideological movements or groups.
The bill is also at least the third this year named after New York’s mayor, with Republican-sponsored bills using his name to try to strip the city of federal funds and investigate government-run grocery stores.
The Independent has requested comment from the mayor’s office.
“Admission to the United States is a privilege, not a right. We have absolutely no obligation to open our doors to aliens who seek to undermine the Constitution, dismantle our republic, or champion ideologies fundamentally opposed to American liberties,” Grant Newman, director of government relations for the right-wink Immigration Accountability Project think tank said in a statement.
“A sovereign nation must prioritize its own survival and the safety of its citizens above all else,” he added.
open image in galleryMamdani has faced a wave of anti-immigrant outrage from Republican officials since his election to the mayor’s office in New York City in 2025 (via REUTERS)In a memo released last year, the Department of Justice indicated plans to “prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence.”
The agency intends to take action against citizens who it believes “pose a potential danger to national security,” or who officials claim have acquired their citizenship through “material misrepresentations.” The division also notes that it could pursue denaturalization in “any other cases” that officials believe are “sufficiently important to pursue.”
“These categories do not limit the Civil Division from pursuing any particular case, nor are they listed in a particular order of importance,” according to the memo.
The Supreme Court will decide in the coming weeks whether the president’s executive order revoking automatic U.S. citizenship at birth is constitutional.
If allowed to stand, tens of thousands of eligible newborns would be denied citizenship every year.
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