Protecting America From Spies Act
Latest action · Jan 15, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 15, 2025
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Protecting America From Spies Act
This bill expands the grounds for barring non-U.S. nationals (aliens under federal law) from entering the United States on the basis of espionage or sabotage.
Currently, an individual is inadmissible if the individual seeks to enter the United States to engage in an act that (1) violates a U.S. law relating to espionage or sabotage; or (2) violates any U.S. law prohibiting the export of goods, technology, or sensitive information. Under the bill, an individual is inadmissible if the individual engages, has engaged, or will engage in such an act or in an act that would violate any U.S. law relating to espionage or sabotage if it occurred in the United States.
Furthermore, the bill expands these grounds of inadmissibility and other security-related grounds to cover the spouse or child of the barred individual if the act occurred in the last five years.
Cosponsors 9
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 15, 2025 to Aug 29, 2025; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-TN | Andrew Ogles | Original | Jan 15, 2025 |
| R-LA | Clay Higgins | Original | Jan 15, 2025 |
| R-MI | Jack Bergman | Original | Jan 15, 2025 |
| R-TN | Mark E. Green | Jan 22, 2025 | |
| R-TX | Randy K. Weber, Sr. | Jan 28, 2025 | |
| R-FL | Byron Donalds | Feb 4, 2025 | |
| R-WI | Glenn Grothman | Feb 21, 2025 | |
| R-FL | Anna Paulina Luna | Aug 29, 2025 | |
| R-FL | W. Gregory Steube | Aug 29, 2025 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jan 15, 2025 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 15, 2025Introduced in House
- Jan 15, 2025Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 8, January 15, 2025, page H186.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to ensure that efforts to engage in espionage or technology transfer are considered in visa issuance, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Protecting America From Spies Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Immigration.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jan 15, 2025Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
