A New Bill Could Let Marco Rubio Strip U.S. Citizens of Their Passports — for What They Say About Israel
A bill making its way through the U.S. House of Representatives is raising red flags among civil rights advocates, who warn that it could give Secretary of State Marco Rubio the unchecked power to revoke U.S. passports — not for crimes committed, but for political beliefs expressed. The legislation, quietly introduced by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), is set to be discussed in committee this week.
At first glance, the bill claims to target individuals providing “material support” to designated terrorist organizations. But a closer look reveals language so vague — and so sweeping — that experts say it could allow the government to strip passports from U.S. citizens simply for expressing dissent, especially dissent related to Israeli policy.
One section of the bill permits the secretary of state to deny or revoke a passport from anyone convicted — or even charged — with material support for terrorism. But the more controversial provision goes further, empowering the secretary to deny travel documents to anyone they believe has “knowingly aided, assisted, abetted, or otherwise provided material support” to a foreign terrorist group.
Rep. Mast, the bill’s sponsor, is no stranger to controversy. A former soldier for the Israeli military, Mast once stated publicly that babies in Gaza were “not innocent Palestinian civilians.” He has openly called for expelling “terrorist sympathizers” from the United States — a label he’s used to describe college students protesting U.S. military aid to Israel.
And what qualifies as “support,” anyway? In the current political climate, even calls for ceasefires, criticism of Israeli policy, or support for Palestinian rights are frequently met with accusations of antisemitism or terrorism sympathy. That’s not a hypothetical — it’s the framework Rubio and Mast are already operating within.
The broader implications are chilling. If a student writing an op-ed or a protester chanting at a demonstration can be labeled a threat to national security, then the U.S. passport — a core proof of citizenship and international identity — becomes a political weapon, one that can be revoked for holding the wrong opinion.
And if this bill becomes law, the person wielding that weapon will be Marco Rubio.
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr
