New Bill Would Give Marco Rubio “Thought Police” Power to Revoke Passports of U.S. Citizens
September 14th, 2025In other news… pic.twitter.com/vdb0rNhw8V
— cryptogon (@cryptogon) September 15, 2025
Via: The Intercept:
In March, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stripped Turkish doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk’s of her visa based on what a court later found was nothing more than her opinion piece critical of Israel.
Now, a bill introduced by the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is ringing alarm bells for civil liberties advocates who say it would grant Rubio the power to revoke the passports of American citizens on similar grounds.
The provision, sponsored by Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., as part of a larger State Department reorganization, is set for a hearing Wednesday.
Mast’s legislation says that it takes aim at “terrorists and traffickers,” but critics say it could be used to deny American citizens the right to travel based solely on their speech.
I rekon free speech was assassinated long ago.
Not totally. I pretty much write what I think, though I don’t say it in person among strangers. I still have my passport and use it. But the idea of free speech was marked for death long ago, as was the rest of the Constitution. They’ve been chipping away at it, one person or one group at a time, till the majority accept it and the refusers won’t add up to more than they can handle. I figure that the least I can do is use it, or I’ll lose it.