U.S Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican who represents Texas’ 21st Congressional District between San Antonio and Austin, posted on X Sunday night: “No more Muslims. No more criminals. No more marxists. No more corporatists. #SaveTexas.” 

The post quickly ignited a wave of online backlash, with critics accusing Roy of Islamophobia and arguing his call to action tramples on rights laid out in the U.S. Constitution. 

“Your calls to remove the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of religion and speech for Muslims is a cowardly pander to the worst elements of our society,” an X user by the name of John Graves wrote. “Criticism of Islam is one thing; what you are calling for is shameful bigotry.” 

Numerous other comments echoed that same critique, with some even labeling Roy as a “traitor to the U.S. Constitution and to the American people.” 

“What do you mean, ‘no more Muslims’? You swore to uphold the Constitution and it is pretty clear on this topic,” another X user wrote. “You don’t get to say what religions are good or not. You don’t get to restrict someone’s freedom based on their faith.”

Roy’s Washington, D.C. office did not immediately respond to Chron’s request for comment. 

The congressman’s political brand has long been tied to a hard-line interpretation of the “rule of law,” particularly on immigration. On his official campaign website, under the ‘Issues’ section, he states that “it is the federal government’s Constitutional duty to uphold the rule of law and defend the safety of the American people.” 

Roy and his office also have a history of making extreme policy calls. In early March, Chron reported on Roy’s call to halt all U.S. immigration, citing what he described as “Muslim immigrant violence” and a “mass migration of Islamists.” He also spearheaded the Sharia-Free America Caucus, a conservative effort that critics have labeled anti-Muslim and broadly exclusionary. 

The criticism directed at Roy and other Texas lawmakers in recent months is not unfolding in a vacuum. Instead, it signifies a broader political climate in which fear, exclusion and open hostility toward Muslims has been normalized by elected officials.