Congresswoman Nancy Mace introduced the Hire American Act on May 29, which would restrict federal government employment to U.S. citizens and nationals only. The legislation amends title 5 of the United States Code and applies to all federal employees, including those at the U.S. Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory Commission.
Mace said, “American taxpayers foot the bill for every single federal job in this country. Every salary. Every benefit. Every pension. Those jobs belong to American workers, not non-citizens.” She continued, “Right now, there is no permanent law stopping a non-citizen from being hired by a federal agency or put on the federal payroll. Our bill ends this. If you want to work for the American government, you need to be an American citizen. Period.”
The proposed act requires individuals seeking federal employment to sign an affidavit attesting to their citizenship status before appointment and mandates that hiring agencies verify citizenship status as well. Penalties for providing false information include up to a $50,000 fine and five years in prison.
Currently, there is no comprehensive law requiring citizenship as a baseline condition of federal employment; this legislation aims to address that gap permanently by introducing these requirements with four exceptions: temporary translators, emergency field workers, international broadcasters, and nonresident alien wildland firefighters under existing country agreements.
The Office of Personnel Management would be required under this bill to issue implementation guidance within 180 days and report back to Congress on how many current non-citizen employees are working across agencies and positions so Americans can know where non-citizens are employed in government roles.
“The American people are tired of a government working against them. They deserve to know the people running federal agencies, handling their data, and accessing classified information are Americans first. This bill makes sure of it,” Mace said.
Nancy Mace has represented South Carolina’s 1st district in Congress since 2021 after previously serving in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 2018-2020; she replaced Joe Cunningham as representative for her district, according to official congressional records.
