Rep. Chip Roy Calls for Greater Scrutiny of Legal Immigration from Muslim-Majority Countries at House Hearing

Rep. Chip Roy spoke at a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution and Limited Government hearing on May 13, 2026, attributing the rise of Islamism to expansionist legal immigration policies. "Over the past few years, Shariah-based legal institutions have taken root in American communities, and nowhere is this problem worse than in my home state of Texas," Roy said during the hearing.

Fueled by decades of an unsecured border and expansionist legal immigration policies, Texas has seen a sharp increase in immigration from the Muslim world. An estimated 650 Muslim nonprofits have been established in Texas as of 2026. The East Plano Islamic Center, known as EPIC, has developed a 400-acre residential community exclusively for Muslims.

EPIC City plans to build over 1,000 single and multi-family homes and introduce Islamic schooling. U.S. civil or criminal law, nor the Constitution," Roy said.

"The radicals pushing political Islam do not want to coexist with America’s culture and political order. " Roy pointed to trends in Europe to illustrate broader patterns. In France, 44% of Muslims believe Islamic law takes precedence over French law according to a 2025 poll, a 16 percentage point increase from 1995.

Muhammad has been the most popular baby name in the United Kingdom for several years and has become the most popular baby name among people receiving welfare in Germany. Mark Krikorian, the executive director at the Center for Immigration Studies, made a similar argument about compatibility with Western societies.

"Our legal immigration system should not pick and choose among religions or ethnic groups — but it should seek to screen out potential immigrants whose views are incompatible with our society," Krikorian wrote in a statement to the Daily Caller.

Krikorian said that kind of cultural vetting would take the form of checking social media for support of female genital mutilation, polygamy, punishment of apostates or killing gays. U.S. consular officials abroad about their views on such things, he added.

Candidates for citizenship should be grilled on these questions again before being allowed to become citizens. "Nothing’s perfect, and we have plenty of our own native-born cretins, but no one who holds such backward views should be allowed to move here or become a citizen," Krikorian stated.

Elizabeth Jacobs, the director of regulatory affairs and policy for the Center for Immigration Studies, said Congressman Roy’s remarks reflect a shift within parts of the GOP.

Jacobs told the Daily Caller that some Republicans are moving away from focusing exclusively on border security and illegal immigration toward greater scrutiny of the scale and long-term consequences of mass legal immigration. Jacobs added that policymakers should also consider issues related to assimilation, national security, and whether current immigration levels are consistent with the country’s overall capacity to integrate new immigrants.

The greater the number of new arrivals, the more difficult it becomes to ensure both economic and social cohesion, she said.

@DailyCaller reported these developments from the hearing and associated statements.