H.R. 4638 BOWOW Act of 2025 - Immigration inadmissibility for harming law enforcement animals

House Rules Committee: Legislation

Published July 23rd, 2025

Detected February 27th, 2026

Summary

H.R. 4638, the BOWOW Act of 2025, was introduced in the US House of Representatives. This bill proposes to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make aliens inadmissible and deportable if convicted of harming animals used in law enforcement.

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What changed

H.R. 4638, the BOWOW Act of 2025, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 23, 2025. The bill, if enacted, would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish inadmissibility and deportability for any alien convicted of, admitting to, or admitting to committing acts constituting the essential elements of an offense related to harming animals used in law enforcement, as defined under section 1368 of title 18, United States Code.

This proposed legislation introduces a new category of grounds for inadmissibility and deportability. While currently a draft bill, it signals a potential shift in immigration policy concerning offenses against law enforcement animals. Compliance officers should monitor the progress of this bill through Congress, as its enactment would require updates to immigration screening and enforcement protocols. No specific compliance deadline is provided as this is a proposed bill, not a final rule.

What to do next

Monitor the legislative progress of H.R. 4638.
Review potential impacts on immigration screening and enforcement if the bill is enacted.

Source document (simplified)

IB Union Calendar No. 355 119 TH CONGRESS 1 ST S ESSION H. R. 4638 [Report No. 119–407] To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that an alien who has been convicted of harming animals used in law enforcement is inadmissible and deportable, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES J ULY 23, 2025 Mr. C ALVERT (for himself, Ms. T ENNEY, Mr. T IFFANY, Mr. W EBSTER of Florida, Mr. M C C LINTOCK, Mr. S TEUBE, Mr. O WENS, Mr. I SSA, Mr. H ARRIGAN, Mr. F ITZPATRICK, Mr. B UCHANAN, Mr. N EWHOUSE, Mr. R ULLI, Mr. W ILLIAMS of Texas, and Mr. B ACON) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary D ECEMBER 12, 2025 Additional sponsors: Mr. S TAUBER, Mr. L A L OTA, Mr. G ILL of Texas, Mr. C RANE, and Ms. M ACE D ECEMBER 12, 2025 Reported with an amendment; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 23, 2025] VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Dec 13, 2025 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H4638.RH H4638 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS

2 • HR 4638 RH A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that an alien who has been convicted of harming animals used in law enforcement is inadmissible and deportable, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Dec 13, 2025 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H4638.RH H4638 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS

3 • HR 4638 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bill to Outlaw Wound- 4 ing of Official Working Animals Act of 2025’’ or the 5 ‘‘BOWOW Act of 2025’’. 6 SEC. 2. INADMISSIBILITY AND DEPORTABILITY RELATED 7 TO HARMING ANIMALS USED IN LAW EN- 8 FORCEMENT. 9 (a) I NADMISSIBILITY.—Section 212(a)(2) of the Immi- 10 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)) is 11 amended by adding at the end the following: 12 ‘‘(J) H ARMING ANIMALS USED IN LAW EN - 13 FORCEMENT.—Any alien who has been convicted 14 of, who admits having committed, or who admits 15 committing acts which constitute the essential 16 elements of an offense under section 1368 of title 17 18, United States Code (relating to harming ani- 18 mals used in law enforcement), is inadmissible.’’. 19 (b) D EPORTABILITY.—Section 237(a)(2) of the Immi- 20 gration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)) is 21 amended by adding at the end the following: 22 ‘‘(G) H ARMING ANIMALS USED IN LAW EN - 23 FORCEMENT.—Any alien who has been convicted 24 of, who admits having committed, or who admits 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Dec 13, 2025 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4638.RH H4638 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS

4 • HR 4638 RH committing acts which constitute the essential 1 elements of an offense under section 1368 of title 2 18, United States Code (relating to harming ani- 3 mals used in law enforcement), is deportable.’’. 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Dec 13, 2025 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4638.RH H4638 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS

VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Dec 13, 2025 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H4638.RH H4638 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS

Union Calendar No. 355 119 TH CONGRESS 1 ST S ESSION H. R. 4638 [Report No. 119–407] A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide that an alien who has been convicted of harming animals used in law enforcement is in- admissible and deportable, and for other pur- poses. D ECEMBER 12, 2025 Reported with an amendment; committed to the Com- mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:27 Dec 13, 2025 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\H4638.RH H4638 ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS