National Security & Terror Investigations

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., says he will introduce the 'Halt Immigration from Countries with Inadequate Verification Capabilities Act' (HICIVA), a bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to bar entry of non‑citizens from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen and from people who lived in those countries within the prior five years. Ogles explicitly frames the bill as a statutory extension of Donald Trump’s 2017 travel restrictions and argues that 'mass Islamic immigration' has harmed the United States, making clear he sees Islam itself as a civilizational threat. The move comes days after the Austin, Texas mass shooting on West 6th Street, where suspect Ndiaga Diagne was killed by police and investigators found a 'property of Allah' hoodie, an Iranian flag and photos of Islamic leaders, though authorities have not yet assigned a definitive motive. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis says investigators are looking at 'the totality' of those indicators and recent U.S.–Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader as they probe possible ideological or retaliatory motives. The bill would not apply to U.S. citizens, but critics online and civil‑liberties groups are already warning that a religion‑targeted approach, built around a single incident with an unresolved investigation, risks repeating and potentially hardening the most controversial aspects of Trump’s original travel ban.