Highlights:
- Chip Roy proposes legislation to freeze all US immigration
- Bill seeks to end H-1B visas, reform chain migration, and change birthright citizenship
- Roy links proposal to concerns about Islamism' and 'Sharia law'
- Comes amid Trump’s steep $100,000 fee hike for new H-1B applications
- Trump says America still needs specialized foreign talent despite crackdowns.
US Congressman Chip Roy has announced that he plans to introduce a bill calling for a complete freeze on all immigration to the United States. His proposal comes at a time when President Donald Trump’s tougher immigration stance, including major changes to the H-1B visa program, has already unsettled many Indian professionals, who make up nearly 70 per cent of all H-1B visa holders.
Speaking on political commentator Benny Johnson’s show, the Texas Republican said the legislation would block every category of immigration “until certain objectives are achieved.” According to Roy, these goals include ending the H-1B program, reforming chain migration, changing birthright citizenship laws, and increasing vetting based on 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,” Roy said, as quoted by ANI. A strong conservative and close ally of President Trump, Roy has repeatedly pushed for stricter border enforcement and more limits on work visas.
The congressman argued that the US immigration system is “broken,” adding that tighter entry rules are necessary to protect national security. He pointed to what he described as rising threats from “Islamism” and the “advancement of Sharia law,” claiming these issues pose risks to American society and culture. He further said certain communities “have no desire to assimilate or embrace American values.”
Roy, who represents Texas’s 21st Congressional District, is currently serving his fourth term in the U.S. House. A former chief of staff to Senator Ted Cruz, he has long been considered one of the chamber’s most vocal hardliners on immigration.
If introduced, Roy’s bill would begin the standard legislative process: committee review, debate, amendments, and passage in both the House and Senate before being sent to the President. Should President Trump support the proposal, it could gain enough momentum to make it to the floor for a vote.
The immigration freeze proposal comes just as the Trump administration has implemented sweeping changes to the H-1B visa system. A proclamation issued in September raised the application fee for new petitions from roughly $1,500 to $100,000 — a dramatic increase aimed at tightening corporate use of foreign labor. The State Department later clarified that the new fee applies only to new cases filed after September 21 and does not affect current H-1B holders.
Despite mounting criticism, Trump has emphasized that the US still needs certain types of foreign expertise. “We do have to bring talent into the country,” Trump said this week. When asked if the US already had enough domestic talent, he responded, “No, you don’t… You don’t have certain talents.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed that view, explaining that Trump’s vision is to bring in highly skilled foreign workers for a few years to help train the American workforce before returning to their home countries.
