Lawmaker Introduces MAMDANI Act Aimed at Denaturalising Immigrants Involved In Marxist Or Islamic Fundamentalist Doctrines

A Texas Republican congressman has introduced a bill targeting immigrants who advocate for or have ties to socialist, Marxist, or Islamic fundamentalist movements, naming it directly after New York City's Democratic mayor.

Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) officially introduced the Measures Against Marxism's Dangerous Adherents and Noxious Islamists (MAMDANI) Act of 2026 on 20 April, seeking sweeping amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act. The legislation would make any non-citizen affiliated with or advocating for socialist, communist, Chinese communist, Marxist, or Islamic fundamentalist parties or doctrines inadmissible to the United States, deportable if already resident, and ineligible for naturalisation.

Its acronym is a deliberate reference to Zohran Mamdani, the self-described democratic socialist who serves as mayor of New York City, whom Roy's office names directly in the bill's justification materials.

What the MAMDANI Act Would Do to Non-Citizens Under US Immigration Law

The bill, introduced into the 119th Congress and referred to committee, amends three key sections of existing immigration law. Under Section 212(a)(3)(D) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the proposal would expand the current prohibition on admitting members of totalitarian parties to cover a specifically enumerated list: Chinese communist parties, communist parties, socialist parties, and Islamic fundamentalist parties. It also adds, for the first time, explicit grounds for inadmissibility for anyone who advocates or has ever advocated for those ideologies.

Deportation provisions run equally broad. The bill adds a new subsection to Section 237(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act that would render any non-citizen deportable if they have ever written, distributed, or even possessed material advocating for communism, Marxism, socialism, or Islamic fundamentalism.

That same subsection applies to anyone who, at any time after their admission into the United States, joins or affiliates with any organisation the bill defines as falling under those categories.

The legislation also extends what is currently a ten-year bar on naturalisation for members of totalitarian parties to 20 years, and narrows the existing exception for involuntary membership by lowering the qualifying age threshold from 16 to 14. Under the bill's definitions section, 'socialism' is defined to include any movement that advocates the doctrines of Karl Marx or Friedrich Engels. 'Islamic fundamentalism' is defined to include any effort to advocate or impose Sharia law 'in any setting.'

Zohran Mamdani Named in Bill Text as the Legislation's Stated Justification

The bill's title is not coincidental. Roy's office distributed a summary alongside the bill text arguing that 'the very presence of Zohran Mamdani and those like him who champion Marxist ideologies' demonstrates how the US immigration system 'enables the mass importation of Marxists and Islamists.'

Mamdani, born in Uganda in 1991 and raised in the United States, became a naturalised US citizen in 2018. He was elected mayor of New York City in 2025 and is a self-described democratic socialist.

In his official press release, Roy stated: 'Why do we continue to import people who hate us? Not just for the last six years, but for the last 60 years, our immigration system has been cynically used to disadvantage American workers' competitiveness in favour of mass-importing the third world. This has not just led to higher crime and lower wages, but also the promulgation of hostile ideologies fundamentally opposed to American values.'

Roy has been vocal about Mamdani since the New Yorker's 2025 mayoral campaign and has previously called for the Department of Homeland Security to scrutinise Mamdani's background, citing the mayor's past public associations. The bill also explicitly names the Democratic Socialists of America under its definition of 'socialist party,' meaning membership in that organisation alone could constitute grounds for inadmissibility or deportation under the proposed law.

No Judicial Review Clause and Broad Definitions Drawing Legal Scrutiny

One of the bill's most consequential provisions is its non-reviewability clause. Under each operative section governing inadmissibility, deportability, and denaturalisation, the bill text states: 'Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any determination made under this subparagraph shall be final and shall not be subject to review by any court.' That language would strip federal courts of jurisdiction over individual deportation and denaturalisation cases decided under the act.

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) warned publicly that Roy's legislation would 'expand their list of targets, little by little, hoping you do not notice, until there is no one left to stand against their agenda.' Ravi Mangla, press secretary for the Working Families Party, remarked after the bill's introduction that 'Roy's staff probably wasted days trying to land this acronym,' a reference to the bill's strained title construction. As of publication, Mamdani's office had not issued a formal public response.

Roy has also been developing a broader legislative push on these themes. He co-launched the 'Sharia Free America Caucus' in December 2025, which has since grown to 65 members, and introduced the Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act in October 2025, which targeted foreign nationals who observe Sharia law. The MAMDANI Act represents the most expansive version of that legislative agenda to date.

The bill has been referred to committee in the House of Representatives, and with no Democratic support indicated, its path to enactment faces steep constitutional and political headwinds.