In a sharp rebuke of longstanding U.S. immigration policy, South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace introduced the Third World Immigration Moratorium Act on July 15, 2026, a piece of legislation that would impose a full entry block on most migrants from 39 low- and middle-income countries spanning the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
The core justification cited for the sweeping proposal is the consistent refusal of many listed nations to cooperate with U.S. deportation protocols, as well as their failure to share required identifying information needed to complete mandatory background checks for prospective entrants. Highlighted among the targeted countries is Haiti, along with Caribbean and Latin American neighbors Cuba and Venezuela. The African nations included in the ban are Angola, Benin, Burundi, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Rounding out the list are Afghanistan, Iran, Laos, Myanmar, Syria, Turkmenistan, and Yemen from the Middle East and Asia.
In remarks accompanying the bill’s introduction, Mace framed the proposal as a long-overdue correction to decades of lax immigration enforcement in Washington. “The American people are done playing games and so are we. For too long, Washington has looked the other way while bad actors exploited every gap in our system and American families paid the price. Those days are over,” Mace said. She doubled down on the restrictive framing, adding, “If you import the third world, you will become the third world. This bill makes crystal clear: entry into the United States is a privilege, not a right. We make absolutely no apologies for defending it.” Later, she emphasized, “We are not a dumping ground for the third world’s problems. This bill is a straightforward solution to keep dangerous aliens out and send a message to every country on this list: the free ride is over.”
The legislation includes narrow, targeted exceptions to the entry ban, which cover lawful permanent residents who already hold resident status in the U.S.; dual nationals who hold citizenship from a non-designated country; diplomatic staff and personnel aligned with NATO treaty obligations; elite athletes traveling to compete in high-profile international events including the World Cup and Olympic Games; special immigrant visa holders, particularly those who previously served alongside U.S. military forces; and individuals fleeing verifiable ethnic or religious persecution in Iran. The bill also grants the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security discretionary authority to issue waivers for individual cases where entry would serve a confirmed critical U.S. national interest.
To ensure ongoing congressional oversight, the legislation requires the Secretary of State, working in consultation with the Attorney General, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Director of National Intelligence, to submit a comprehensive report to Congress every 180 days. These reports will assess whether the entry prohibitions should be extended, adjusted, or expanded to include additional nations.
Despite its introduction by a sitting congressional representative, the Third World Immigration Moratorium Act has faced widespread criticism from political opponents, and political analysts widely assess that it faces extremely long odds to pass the full Congress. The bill is expected to draw unified opposition from Democratic lawmakers, as well as pushback from a faction of moderate Republicans who have historically supported more flexible immigration frameworks.