Banning Perpetrators of Religious Persecution Act of 2026

Any alien who—

(I) while serving as a foreign government official, was responsible for, or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom (as defined in section 3(13) of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6402(13))); or

(II) at any time while outside the United States, directed, authorized, significantly supported, participated in, was responsible for, or carried out particularly severe violations of religious freedom or violations of religious freedom (as defined in section 3(16) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 6402(16))),

is inadmissible.

Notwithstanding the limitations under section 222(f) with respect to the confidentiality of certain immigration records and except as provided under subclause (II), the Secretary of State shall post, on a publicly accessible website of the Department of State—

(aa) the names of all of the aliens determined to be inadmissible under clause (i); and

(bb) the countries or other locations in which violations of religious freedom described in such clause took place.

If the Secretary of State determines, on a case-by-case basis and in the Secretary’s sole and unreviewable discretion, that the public release of the identity of any particular alien determined to be inadmissible under clause (i) would have adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States, the Secretary—

(aa) may exclude such alien from the disclosure requirement under subclause (I); and

(bb) shall submit a semiannual report to Congress, in accordance with section 51(a) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2723(a)), explaining the reasons for such exclusion.