Judiciary Committee reports three immigration bills and adopts oversight plan after marathon markup

WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday marked up and ordered three bills to be reported favorably to the House and adopted its authorization and oversight plan after hours of debate that ranged from foreign online censorship to drunk‑driving crimes by noncitizens and sanctions for Hamas affiliates.

Representative Darrell Issa, the sponsor of HR 1071, the “No Censors on Our Shores Act,” told the committee the measure is meant to protect Americans’ access to U.S. viewpoints on social platforms by blocking certain foreign officials who have participated in denying Americans’ speech abroad from entering the United States. Issa said the bill does not reach into other countries’ domestic law but would permit the administration to “deny them a visa” when a foreign official has “participated in stifling free speech” of Americans, and stressed that the administration retains waiver authority.

The committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute to HR 1071 proposed by Issa and ordered the measure to be reported favorably to the House. The chair said the bill, as amended, would be reported as a single amendment in the nature of a substitute incorporating adopted changes.

Separately, the panel considered HR 875, the Protect Our Communities From DUIs Act, which would make a drunk‑driving conviction a basis for inadmissibility and removal for noncitizens in certain cases. Representative Barry Moore, sponsor of HR…