S.4800: “Land of the Free Act of 2026”
S.4800 was introduced 6/16/2026 by Senator Alex Padilla [D-CA]. It is currently pending before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Related legislation: H.R. 8387 (119th Congress)
Bill Summary: S.4800 would repeal Section 237(a)(4)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which allows the Secretary of State to deport non-citizen U.S. residents who they determine to pose “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
Context: Section 237(a)(4)(C) of the INA, a provision that has been used only 15 times prior to the Trump Administration, has recently been weaponized to detain and attempt to deport visa holders and legal permanent residents who have engaged in pro-Palestine activism or speech: Mahmoud Khalil, Rumeysa Özturk, Mohsen Mahdawi, and Yunseo Chung. In each of these cases, Secretary Rubio determined, without review or due process, that the individuals had, “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States,” fully on the basis of their speech that was otherwise protected by the First Amendment. By repealing this Section, this Bill would address a glaring issue in our legislation that allows individuals to be retaliated against and deported based on their speech. The First Amendment applies to everyone physically present within the United States, regardless of citizenship. As such, the Federal District Court examining Mahmoud’s case found this use of the INA Section to be likely unconstitutional. A 1996 New Jersey District Court ruling by Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, President Trump’s sister, similarly found it to be unconstitutional.
These detainments and attempted deportations have had a chilling effect on pro-Palestine speech, in particular on college campuses. University students must be able to engage in the free exchange of ideas and the American tradition of protest. However, with international students frightened of the revocation of their ability to live and study in the United States, there have been fewer campus protests and efforts to speak out about Palestine. Rumeysa Özturk, an international student at Tufts University and co-author of an op-ed criticizing the Israeli government's actions, Columbia graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a legal permanent resident and leader in student negotiations with the university, were videoed handcuffed and forced into vans by plainclothes officers. The threat of detention has driven international students to cleanse their social media of political speech on Israel, avoid protests, and censor themselves in class discussions. Beyond infringing on individual students’ rights, this is a loss for intellectual diversity and the free exchange of ideas at American universities.
Even if an individual is careful to align themselves with the messaging of the current administration, a future administration could use Section 237(a)(4)(C) to target them for speech they didn’t know would be later linked to “potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences.” Resultingly, this Section encourages silence – not just on Israel’s actions in Gaza, but across sensitive or political issues.
American Values Analysis: The First Amendment is central to American values of freedom and democracy. The great promise of the United States is that it offers the people within it freedom: to speak, to think, to study, and to protest, regardless of our elected officials’ opinions. America’s refusal to ban or remove people based on their beliefs or statements separates us from the repressive, undemocratic regimes from which many of our citizens’ ancestors fled. This Bill aligns with American values by affirming that these principles apply equally to everyone in the United States.
American Interest Analysis: S.4800 would promote the United States’ longstanding commitment to free expression and international academic cooperation and exchange, a key component of America’s global leadership in education and innovation. This Bill will also protect the diversity of thought and academic inquiry fostered across American higher education, and strengthen American credibility on tolerance, free speech, and human rights on a global stage. Free speech is as much about the freedom to hear as the freedom to speak. By silencing non-citizens, Section 237(a)(4)(C) of the INA prevents everyone around them from engaging with their ideas; this Bill would defend the right of all Americans to hear and engage.
A New Policy’s Recommendation: SUPPORT
A New Policy supports S.4800 because it corrects a gap in our legislation that has allowed for the First Amendment rights of green card holders and permanent residents to be unconstitutionally limited and for retaliatory detainments that threaten free speech for everyone. This Bill is about whether non-citizens lawfully present in the United States have the same First Amendment rights as everyone else. As stated by the U.S. District Judge William Young, “The Court answers this Constitutional question unequivocally ‘yes, they do.’ ‘No law’ means ‘no law.’”
For more information please contact: Tariq Habash, info@anewpolicy.org, (202) 770-0055
