HR 419 — Protecting America From Spies Act
Last action — Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
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✓Introduced
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2In Committee
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3Passed House
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4Passed Senate
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5To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 15, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.
Odds of enactment
Low chanceBased on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.
Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.
A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.
Prognosis
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In Committee
Current position in the legislative process.
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10 sponsors
1 primary, 9 co-sponsors signed on.
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Single-party support
Sponsorship is currently within one party (10 R).
Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.
Summary
Protecting America From Spies ActThis 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.
Bill Text
- Introduced Introduced in House Current html January 15, 2025
Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.
The bill expands the list of grounds for inadmissibility based on security-related activities, specifically regarding espionage and technology transfer.
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8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(A)
(A) In general.--Any alien is inadmissible if a consular officer, an immigration officer, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Attorney General knows, or has reasonable ground to believe, that the alien-- (i) engages, has engaged, or will engage in any activity-- (I) in violation of any law of the United States relating to espionage or sabotage; or (II) that would violate any law of the United States relating to espionage or sabotage if the activity occurred in the United States; (ii) engages, has engaged, or will engage in any activity in violation or evasion of any law prohibiting the export from the United States of goods, technology, or sensitive information; (iii) seeks to enter the United States to engage solely, principally, or incidentally in any other unlawful activity; (iv) seeks to enter the United States to engage solely, principally, or incidentally in any activity a purpose of which is the opposition to, or the control or overthrow of, the Government of the United States by force, violence, or other unlawful means; or (v) is the spouse or child of an alien who is inadmissible under this subparagraph, if the activity causing the alien to be found inadmissible occurred within the last 5 years.
This change establishes new inadmissibility criteria related to espionage and technology transfer activities.
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8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(3)(A)
(other than paragraphs (3)(A)(i)(I), (3)(A)(ii), (3)(A)(iii), (3)(C), and clauses (i) and (ii) of paragraph (3)(E) of such subsection)→ (other than subparagraphs (A)(i)(I), (A)(ii), (A)(iii), (A)(iv), (C), (E)(i), and (E)(ii) of paragraph (3) of such subsection)This change updates the waiver authority to reflect the new grounds of inadmissibility added to section 212.
Action History
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Introduced in House
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Introduced in House
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Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Sponsors
- Ben Cline · Primary
- Jack Bergman · Cosponsor
- Andrew Ogles · Cosponsor
- Clay Higgins · Cosponsor
- Mark E. Green · Cosponsor
- Randy K. Sr. Weber · Cosponsor
- Byron Donalds · Cosponsor
- Glenn Grothman · Cosponsor
- Anna Paulina Luna · Cosponsor
- W. Gregory Steube · Cosponsor
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →1 sponsors · 9 co-sponsors · 537 not signed on
Sponsors (1)
- Cline, Ben Republican
Co-sponsors (9)
- Bergman, Jack Republican
- Ogles, Andrew Republican
- Higgins, Clay Republican
- Green, Mark E. Republican
- Weber, Randy K. Sr. Republican
- Donalds, Byron Republican
- Grothman, Glenn Republican
- Luna, Anna Paulina Republican
- Steube, W. Gregory Republican
Not signed on (537)
537 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 537 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- What does HR 419 do?
- Protecting America From Spies ActThis 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.
- Who sponsors HR 419?
- HR 419 is sponsored by Cline, Ben (Republican), Bergman, Jack (Republican), Ogles, Andrew (Republican), Higgins, Clay (Republican), Green, Mark E. (Republican), Weber, Randy K. Sr. (Republican), Donalds, Byron (Republican), Grothman, Glenn (Republican), Luna, Anna Paulina (Republican), and Steube, W. Gregory (Republican).
- What is the current status of HR 419?
- This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 15, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
- Where can I track HR 419?
- Track HR 419 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously
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