Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has introduced legislation that would bar the relatives of designated terrorists and other hostile foreign actors from entering the United States and revoke existing visas, following reports that relatives of former Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani lived legally in the country for years and promoted pro-terror propaganda.
“For years, close family members of terrorists have benefited from U.S. visas,” Cotton stated. “We shouldn’t host the relatives of people who attack our country. My bill ends this absurd practice.”
The legislation, titled the “No Safe Haven for Terrorist Families Act,” would establish a new category of inadmissibility under U.S. immigration law covering relatives of foreign terrorists and other designated hostile actors.
Under the bill, spouses, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, nieces and nephews of designated terrorists could be denied visas or subject to deportation. It would also extend to relatives of senior officials tied to state sponsors of terrorism and foreign adversaries, including Iran, China and Russia, as well as individuals sanctioned for corruption or human-rights abuses.
Cotton’s bill argues that existing visa inadmissibility rules are too narrow, contending that relatives of hostile actors may have access to “networks, resources and influence” that could threaten U.S. national security.
The proposal would direct the U.S. secretary of state to revoke existing visas within 30 days of determining that an individual falls under the new restrictions.
