H.R. 9834: No Racketeers on our Shores Act

This bill would make certain foreign government officials ineligible to enter the United States, and removable if they are already here, if they are found to have taken part in economic discrimination against a U.S. person.

What counts as “economic discrimination” under the bill

The bill defines this broadly. It would apply to a foreign government official who, while acting in an official capacity, does one or more of the following against a U.S. person:

• starts or carries out investigations
• takes enforcement actions
• makes licensing decisions
• imposes fines or fees
• assesses taxes
• imposes other legal, regulatory, or administrative burdens

To qualify, those actions would have to be more severe, more frequent, or less procedurally favorable than what would be done to a similarly situated non-U.S. person.

Practical effect

In plain terms, the bill would create a new immigration penalty for foreign officials who are seen as unfairly targeting Americans or U.S.-based entities with government actions such as extra scrutiny, harsher fines, tougher licensing treatment, or other burdens that are not applied the same way to comparable non-Americans.

If such an official is outside the United States, the bill would make them inadmissible, meaning they could be denied entry. If they are already in the United States, it would make them deportable, meaning they could be removed under immigration law.

Where it would be added in law

The bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act by adding this new ground of inadmissibility and deportability. It does not, by itself, create a criminal offense or directly change how foreign governments regulate their own citizens; instead, it changes U.S. immigration consequences for the foreign officials involved.

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