70+ Republicans Urge Congress to Freeze H-1B Visas After Texas Gunman Entered on Tourist Visa

(TEXAS, USA) — More than 70 Texas House Republicans signed a letter on March 2, 2026, urging congressional leaders to pause immigration and “immediately freeze all H-1B visa issuance” after a mass shooting in Austin that authorities are investigating as a “potential act of terrorism.”

State Rep. Jonathan Dean joined the letter, which tied its demands to border security, vetting and Department of Homeland Security funding as lawmakers intensified arguments over immigration policy in the aftermath of the attack.

Visa issuance sits with the federal government, not states, and the letter’s requests would require action in Washington. Texas officials can restrict how state agencies handle certain filings, but they cannot halt federal visas.

The March 1, 2026, shooting happened shortly before 2 a.m. outside a bar on West 6th Street, where police said 53-year-old Ndiaga Diagne killed two people and injured 14 others. Police fatally shot him, authorities said.

Investigators are examining the case as a “potential act of terrorism,” and officials have looked at whether it was linked to U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran the prior day. The strikes killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while a confirmed motive in the Austin attack had not been established in the information described by officials.

Authorities described items they said they found in connection with Diagne, including clothing and flags. Diagne wore a sweatshirt reading “Property of Allah” over a shirt with an Iranian flag design, and authorities said his home contained an Iranian flag and photos of Iranian leaders.

Officials also said his vehicle had a Quran. The information described by authorities also cited prior mental health episodes, while noting there was no confirmed motive.

The suspect’s immigration history became central to the political arguments that followed, even though authorities identified him as a naturalized U.S. citizen. The letter and subsequent statements pointed to his earlier entry and later changes in status as evidence lawmakers said should drive new federal restrictions.

DHS information cited in the account said Diagne entered the United States on a B-2 tourist visa on March 13, 2000. He later became a lawful permanent resident in June 2006 through marriage to a U.S. citizen, and he naturalized on April 5, 2013.

The timeline placed the alleged attacker’s earliest U.S. entry on a tourist visa, then a green card, then citizenship years before the shooting. That sequence differs from debates around workplace visas, including H-1B visa issuance, which usually concerns employer-sponsored temporary workers rather than people already holding U.S. citizenship.

Republicans nonetheless framed the case as a vetting failure and used it to press for sweeping federal changes. The letter called for what it described as accountability measures that ranged from funding to enforcement to a broad pause in immigration.

One demand in the letter urged Congress to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security “without budgetary obstruction,” calling it a “national security failure” otherwise. Another asked lawmakers to “immediately freeze all H-1B visa issuance” while the federal government conducts an audit of current holders.

The letter said the audit should verify “who is in this country, why they are here, and whether they pose any risk to national security.” It also called for pausing all immigration until “proper vetting protocols” are in place, and it urged Congress to strengthen border security and immigration enforcement.

In addition, the letter criticized lawmakers for treating border issues as “political footballs.” The demands, taken together, amounted to a call for Congress to use federal power over immigration admissions and visa processing to impose broad limits after the Austin violence.

A freeze on H-1B visa issuance would not directly apply to Diagne, who authorities identified as a naturalized U.S. citizen. Texas Republicans and other officials still argued that the suspect’s path to citizenship raised questions about screening, even though naturalization involves a separate process from employment-based temporary visas.

Gov. Greg Abbott echoed that argument after the shooting, blaming inadequate vetting despite the steps typically required to naturalize. Abbott posted on X: “Allowing unvetted immigrants who are hostile to America, who are loyal to our adversaries like Iran, must end. This was an act of terror.”

Abbott’s position also came alongside earlier state-level action touching H-1B-related paperwork, though such moves do not control federal visa decisions. Earlier in 2026, Abbott directed Texas public universities and state agencies to freeze new H-1B applications, effective January 27, 2026.

That directive addressed how state entities would handle new H-1B filings, not how the federal government issues visas abroad or adjudicates immigration benefits more broadly. The March 2 letter, by contrast, urged Congress to stop H-1B visa issuance nationally and pause immigration across categories.

The politics around the shooting also surfaced a tension in messaging from some state leaders. Republicans described Diagne as inadequately screened, while the known facts in the account also said he had already become a U.S. citizen in 2013.

Denise Gilman, director of the University of Texas at Austin Immigration Clinic, said naturalization requires “many steps that all require vetting.” Gilman also said arrests like Diagne’s do not automatically bar status, depending on the crime’s nature.

The account described a post-naturalization arrest in Diagne’s history. It said he was arrested in Texas in 2022 for “collision with vehicle damage,” a misdemeanor, after he had already naturalized.

Naturalization commonly involves background checks and tests, and it requires an applicant to show “good moral character.” Republicans referenced that standard as they argued for tighter checks, while Gilman emphasized the existing screening steps and said studies show immigrants commit crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans.

The “good moral character” requirement is one part of a broader process that includes an application, an interview, and civics and English testing. Applicants also undergo background checks as part of the process, and the standard focuses on conduct and other factors evaluated during the eligibility period.

The account said the “good moral character” standard had been “enhanced under the Trump administration last fall.” No additional details were provided in the information described about what changed, but the reference underscored how vetting standards have been used as political touchpoints.

Even with screening, criminal conduct after naturalization generally runs through the criminal justice system. Citizenship status does not automatically change based on an arrest, and the account described Gilman’s view that the impact depends on the nature of the crime.

The letter’s demands went beyond naturalization and focused on current admissions and visa pipelines, including H-1B. By asking Congress to freeze H-1B visa issuance pending an audit, Texas Republicans sought to connect a case involving a naturalized citizen to a program that primarily affects employers, foreign workers, and, in some cases, universities.

The letter also called to pause all immigration until “proper vetting protocols” are in place, a sweeping proposal that would affect multiple routes, from family-based pathways to employment-based categories. Texas lawmakers framed that as necessary for security and as a corrective to what they called federal failures.

Democrats and civil rights advocates pushed back on efforts to center the policy debate on immigration rather than firearms. State Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat from Austin, criticized Abbott’s framing and called for gun restrictions after the attack.

Muslim advocates in Texas also condemned the violence while rejecting broader blame tied to faith or community identity. The Texas chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the attack and rejected community-wide blame, the account said.

The dispute highlighted competing narratives that often follow high-profile violence: some officials emphasize immigration controls and vetting, while others point to gun policy and the risk of collective blame. In this case, authorities’ description of what Diagne wore and what was found in his home and vehicle added fuel to public argument, while investigators continued to examine motive and potential links.

The letter’s criticism of Congress also centered on funding and oversight. It urged lawmakers to fully fund DHS and argued that failing to do so amounted to a “national security failure,” while simultaneously pressing for enforcement actions that would require federal resources to implement.

The H-1B request in the letter focused on an audit of existing holders, using the language “who is in this country, why they are here, and whether they pose any risk to national security.” The letter did not describe how an audit would be structured, but it framed the pause as a prerequisite to reviewing those already in the program.

Abbott’s earlier order freezing new H-1B applications at Texas public universities and state agencies offered a separate example of how state leaders can shape institutional choices, even as federal agencies control visa issuance and immigration adjudications. For campus departments and state offices, such directives can affect hiring plans and staffing, even without changing federal law.

Any nationwide change to H-1B visa issuance would require federal action. Congress controls the laws that structure immigration categories, while the executive branch administers visa issuance and enforcement through federal agencies, including DHS.

For employers, workers, and students connected to the H-1B program, the letter’s demands added to uncertainty in a debate already shaped by national security arguments, labor needs, and political pressure after violence. The shooting’s toll — two people killed and 14 injured — also kept the focus on public safety as investigators continued their work.

Talarico cast the policy argument in different terms. He countered Abbott by advocating gun restrictions over an immigration focus, a clash that underscored how Texas leaders are pulling the aftermath of the Austin attack into wider national disputes.