HB.AMERICA’S BORDER REDEFINED: CONGRESS MOVES TO BLOCK MIGRANTS BASED ON RELIGIOUS LAW. THE FIGHT OVER SHARIA IS HERE.

Sharia Showdown: Chip Roy’s Explosive “Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act” Ignites Civil War Over Faith, Borders, and the Soul of the Republic

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the marble halls of the Capitol, where whispers of compromise usually drown out cries of conviction, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) just lit a match that could burn down the fragile scaffolding of America’s immigration debate. His “Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act” (H.R. 5722) isn’t just a bill – it’s a declaration of ideological war, barring any foreign national who “adheres to Sharia law” from entering or staying in the United States, with swift deportation for those already here. Introduced on October 8, 2025, amid Trump’s second-term border blitz, the measure has cracked open a national fault line: Is this the firewall America needs to safeguard its Judeo-Christian roots, or a unconstitutional sledgehammer against religious liberty that could shatter the First Amendment?

Roy didn’t mince words in his floor speech, his Texas drawl cutting through the chamber like a Lone Star blade. “America faces an existential threat – the spread of Sharia law,” he thundered, citing Europe’s “erosion of the West” as a cautionary tale of parallel societies and clashing legal codes. “From Texas to every state, Sharia adherents seek to replace our Constitution with an ideology that diminishes women, children, and faiths not their own. Our immigration system must be fortified – or our republic falls.”

The bill’s teeth are sharp: It amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to deny visas, asylum, or any relief to those who “observe Sharia,” defined broadly as Islamic jurisprudence covering everything from prayer to family law. It mandates deportation hearings, strips judicial review for “activist courts,” and tasks DHS with vetting applicants for Sharia ties – a red line that echoes Trump’s TPS revocations and financial purges but carves deeper into the religious vein. Cosponsors like Reps. Randy Fine (R-FL), Tim Burchett (R-TN), and Keith Self (R-TX) frame it as a “national security imperative,” tying it to fraud scandals in Somali enclaves and rising “Islamification” fears in cities like Dearborn and Minneapolis.

But in a nation still raw from the D.C. attacks and Beckstrom’s funeral procession, the backlash hit like a flash flood. CAIR’s executive director, Nihad Awad, called it “a grotesque assault on the Constitution,” vowing lawsuits that could tie it up in courts for years. “Sharia isn’t a monolith – it’s personal faith, charity, ethics. Banning it bans Muslims,” Awad said at a packed presser outside the Capitol, flanked by interfaith allies from synagogues to Sikh temples. ACLU litigators are already drafting briefs, arguing it violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Establishment Clause, potentially deporting U.S.-born citizens’ parents or green-card holders mid-prayer.

The Powder Keg: From Capitol Hill to Heartland Highways

The firestorm spread faster than a viral X thread. #ShariaBan exploded with 2.7 million posts in 48 hours, a digital battlefield where MAGA warriors hailed Roy as a “freedom fighter” – “Finally, someone with balls to protect our kids from honor killings and fatwas!” tweeted one Texas rancher, echoing Roy’s op-ed in The Federalist warning of an “Islamic cultural revolution” remaking cities like New York. Breitbart ran the headline: “Roy Shields U.S. from Incompatible Ideology – Time to Deport the Threat.”

On the flip side, #ReligiousFreedomNow surged from progressive enclaves, with Rep. Ilhan Omar – whose Minnesota district Roy explicitly name-checks as a “Sharia hotspot” – blasting it as “bigoted fearmongering” on the House floor. “This isn’t security; it’s scapegoating. Target terrorists, not believers,” she fired back, her words amplified by a coalition of 150 House Dems signing a censure resolution. Protests erupted in Dearborn, where 100,000 Arab-Americans rallied under “Faith Not Fear” banners, chanting against what one imam called “a new internment.” Even some GOP moderates squirmed: Sen. Susan Collins called it “overreach,” while evangelicals like Franklin Graham split hairs, praising the intent but warning of “unintended persecution.”

X became the coliseum. One viral clip from Roy’s intro – him slamming a Quran on his desk next to the Constitution – drew 1.2 million views, split 60-40 along partisan lines. “PASS IT NOW! No filibuster excuses!” roared @Big_Bert_25, tagging Senate GOP. Counterposts flooded in: “This is Trumpism on steroids – deporting for dinner rituals?” from @abuibrahim_rl, who dissected the bill’s “nuts” scope, from zakat charity to halal meals. Nashville’s Zulfat Suara decried companion bills as “Islamophobic,” urging rejection of “punishing an entire faith.”

Newsrooms buzzed like beehives. CNN’s panels devolved into shout-fests; Fox’s Tucker Carlson hailed it as “the line in the sand we need.” The Wall Street Journal editorialized caution: “Bold, but brittle – courts will shred it if it smells of theology tests.” Legal eagles predict a Supreme Court showdown, invoking the 1944 Korematsu internment regrets or 2018’s Trump travel ban tweaks.

The Stakes: A Republic Redefined or Rights Ravaged?

At its core, Roy’s gambit isn’t just about borders – it’s a referendum on what America tolerates in its melting pot. Supporters, galvanized by Minnesota’s $6.5B fraud scandals and Brooklyn “intifada” highway blocks, see Sharia as a Trojan horse for theocracy: “Deport them all before it’s too late,” one X user demanded, sharing clips of Michigan imams decrying “infidels.” Roy ties it to Trump’s “America First” ethos: Pause chain migration, end diversity visas, and vet for “incompatible ideologies.”

Critics counter with the Constitution’s unyielding shield: “Sharia’s personal – like kosher laws or Sabbath observance. This is McCarthyism with a hijab filter,” argued a Yale law prof on MSNBC. Muslim vets, numbering 8,000 strong, flooded op-eds: “We bled for this flag – now deport us for praying?” Polls show a razor split: 52% of Republicans back it; 78% of Dems oppose.

As the lame-duck session grinds on, the bill stalls in Judiciary – stalled like H.R. 22’s voter safeguards, per frustrated X users demanding filibuster nukes. Roy vows a discharge petition; CAIR preps injunctions. Trump? Silent so far, but insiders whisper Oval Office nods.

America teeters on this knife’s edge – a nation of immigrants wrestling with whom to welcome, and on what terms. Roy’s act isn’t just law; it’s liturgy for a redefined republic. Will it pass the gavel, or the First Amendment’s fire?

One thing’s certain: The firestorm’s just begun. And in this divided house, the flames could forge a fortress – or raze it to the ground.