President of Argentina Javier Milei on Wednesday signed a decree to ban and expel any foreigner found promoting or inciting messages of violence or discrimination against Argentines on the basis of nationality.
The Office of the President of Argentina informed through a brief statement late Wednesday night that the decision stems from “recent displays of hostility toward the Argentine Republic and Argentines.”
The Argentine government reaffirmed that the defense of the nation, its citizens, and its symbols is non-negotiable — stressing, “Anyone who attacks the Argentine Republic is not welcome in our country.”
The new provisions were signed by President Milei through a Necessity and Urgency Decree (DNU), Argentina’s equivalent of an executive order. Although DNUs go into effect immediately, they are sent for review to Congress, which can then ratify or reject it.
The new DNU amends Argentina’s Immigration Laws so that foreigners who have spread “hate speech or incited violence against the Argentine people or against citizens based on their nationality” may be banned from entering the country or expelled.
The measures also apply to individuals who have committed, participated in, or instigated “acts of desecration against national symbols.”
The Argentine newspaper La Nación reports that the Argentine government’s argument in the decree is that acts of hostility and messages against the Argentine people, its culture, and national identity have increased “considerably.”
Such manifestations, the government reportedly affirmed, represent “a risk to citizens and undermine the basic respect” that foreigners seeking to enter or reside in Argentine territory must maintain. Per the Argentine government, such conduct distorts Argentina’s immigration policies and undermines the conditions for “harmonious coexistence and social peace.”
The Argentine government’s decree clarifies that expressions of ideological, political, or academic dissent, as well as expressions of civic criticism protected under free speech by Argentina’s Constitution may not be considered for the purposes of the new decree.
La Nación, citing the decree, explained the new provisions also allow for the revocation of residency permits for foreigners who engage in the described anti-Argentine conduct — with the possibility of ordering them to leave the country or arranging for their expulsion.
Immigration agents and police are present in the Flores neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on May 7, 2026. The area is known for its migrant population – legal and illegal – and large clothing stores and textile shops, police cordon off access points while immigration agents check the IDs and fingerprints of workers, most of whom are migrants. (Matias Rosingana/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Over the past days, the government of Argentina has denounced the existence of an alleged “anti-Argentina” campaign on social media coinciding with Argentina’s participation at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Milei recently accused the leftist governments of Brazil, Mexico, and the U.S. Democrat Party of allegedly financing a purported campaign against his administration before the upcoming 2027 presidential elections.
The Argentine President also referred to the purported campaign during his participation at the national convention of Brazil’s Liberal Party on Saturday — during which he condemned radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for being a “thief,” “convict,” and “socialist trash.”
Presidential spokesperson Adrián Ravier reportedly backed Milei’s accusations during a press conference.
“Many people hope this model will succeed so they can showcase it, but on the left, many people want this model to fail so that we don’t actually succeed,” Ravier said, per La Nación.
“There’s a theory that the left, in some way, is orchestrating this anti-Argentina campaign to undermine the idea that the Argentine model is able to lift people out of poverty, lift people out of extreme poverty, lower inflation, and set records for production, exports, and so on. It’s all part of the game,” he added.