Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy attributed the skyrocketing rise of Islamism around the world to “expansionist” legal immigration policies during a Wednesday hearing on Capitol Hill.
Roy laid out Islam’s growing foothold across the globe, including his home state of Texas, which has seen a surge in Muslim immigration and Islamic communities. But rather than simply blaming illegal immigration, Roy said legal migration is also a major part of the problem.
“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 House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution and Limited Government hearing. (RELATED: ROOKE: Texas A&M University Takes Aim At New Muslim College)
“Fueled by decades of an unsecured border and expansionist legal immigration policies, Texas has seen a sharp increase in immigration from the Muslim world,” Roy added.
Roy pointed to various cases of rising Islamic influence across the world, particularly in Europe.
In France, 44% of Muslims believe that Islamic law takes precedent over French law, which is a 16% increase from 1995, according to a 2025 poll. Muhammad has also become the most popular baby name in the United Kingdom for several years, and in Germany, it has become the most popular baby name among people receiving welfare.
In Texas alone, an estimated 650 Muslim nonprofits have been established as of 2026. The Islamic community has become so established in the Lone Star State that the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC) has developed its own 400-acre residential community exclusively for Muslims. EPIC City plans to build over 1,000 single and multi-family homes and introduce Islamic schooling, sparking controversy among Texans.
“People do not have protection from imposing a foreign legal system or code that overrides or replaces U.S. civil or criminal law, nor the Constitution,” Roy said. “The Constitution begins with ‘ We the people.’”
“The radicals pushing political Islam do not want to coexist with America’s culture and political order,” Roy said. “They want to replace it.”
Mark Krikorian, the executive director at Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) made a similar argument about Islam’s incompatibility with western societies, saying immigrants “should be grilled” on their values before being granted citizenship. (RELATED: An Incredible Share Of Migrant Households Use Welfare, Study Finds)
“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. “That kind of ‘cultural vetting’ would take the form of, for instance, checking social media for sentiments that are antithetical to our values, not just about terrorism or politics, but also things like support for FGM or polygamy or punishment of apostates or killing gays.”
“Potential immigrants could also be grilled by US consular officials abroad about their views on such things,” Krikorian added. “And 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.”
Roy is just one of many Republicans who have embraced criticism of immigration more broadly, not just from a law enforcement perspective. Elizabeth Jacobs, the director of regulatory affairs and policy for CIS, said that other qualities like assimilation and ideology are increasingly being prioritized in the conversation surrounding immigration. (RELATED: GOP Lawmaker Mike Lawler Attempts To Resurrect Amnesty Plan)
“Congressman Roy’s remarks reflect a shift within parts of the GOP away from focusing exclusively on border security and illegal immigration towards greater scrutiny of the scale and long term consequences of mass legal immigration,” Jacobs told the Caller.
“Increasingly, some Republicans are arguing 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.”