Chip Roy Urges Congress to Make Cartel Terrorist Designations Permanent Law

Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) is calling on Congress to pass a bill that would officially label major Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and he wants it done through legislation rather than just a presidential order.

Roy took to X over the weekend to urge Congress to pass H.R. 885, known as the Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act. The bill was introduced on January 31, 2025, and has been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary, though it has not yet received a vote.

The bill would direct the U.S. Department of State to formally designate four cartels as foreign terrorist organizations:

• The Gulf Cartel
• Cartel del Noreste
• Cartel de Sinaloa
• Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación

That designation would unlock a range of tools for federal authorities, including the ability to freeze cartel assets in U.S. financial institutions, revoke visas of cartel members currently in the country, and apply heavier penalties against anyone affiliated with those organizations.

Continued Fight

Rep. Roy has been pushing for cartel terrorist designations since he first entered Congress in 2019. While President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office, making those designations, Roy argues that an executive order is not enough because a future president could simply reverse it.

His bill is designed to lock the policy into federal law, so it cannot be easily undone.

Additionally, it includes a specific clause stating that a cartel's terrorist designation cannot be used as grounds for seeking asylum in the United States.

Roy has fourteen representatives as co-sponsors on the bill, including:

• Andy Biggs (R-AZ)
• Paul Gosar (R-AZ)
• Byron Donalds (R-FL)
• Clay Higgins (R-LA)
• Ryan Zinke (R-MT)
• Josh Brecheen (R-OK)
• Michael Cloud (R-TX)
• Pat Fallon (R-TX)
• Jodey Arrington (R-TX)
• Randy Weber (R-TX)
• Beth Van Duyne (R-TX)
• Keith Self (R-TX)
• Roger Williams (R-TX)
• Andy Ogles (R-TN)

The bill remains in committee with no scheduled vote announced at this time.