US Lawmakers push to label Polisario a terrorist group as support in Congress grows

Support is growing inside the US Congress for a proposal that would officially classify the Polisario Front as a terrorist organization. The latest lawmaker to back the initiative is Republican Congressman Don Bacon, bringing the total number of supporters in the House of Representatives to nine members from both major parties.

The bill, known as H.R. 4119, was first introduced on June 24, 2025, by Republican Congressman Joe Wilson and Democratic Congressman Jimmy Panetta.

Since then, several lawmakers have joined the effort, including Republicans Mario Diaz-Balart, Jefferson Shreve, Randy Fine, Lance Gooden, Pat Harrigan, and Zach Nunn.

With Bacon’s support, the initiative now reflects growing bipartisan backing in Washington.

Wilson previously said the bill was motivated by concerns over alleged links between the Polisario Front and actors such as Iran and Hezbollah.

According to him, these connections raise security concerns in North Africa and threaten the stability of Morocco, which the United States considers a long-time strategic ally.

Experts say the move shows that some US lawmakers are increasingly looking at the Moroccan Sahara conflict through a security lens rather than just a political dispute.

Sheikh Boussaid, a researcher in public law who focuses on the Moroccan Sahara issue, told Hespress AR that the rising number of supporters in Congress gives the proposal significant political momentum.

“The fact that lawmakers from both parties are backing the bill strengthens its position in Congress,” he explained. “It also shows that some decision-makers in Washington are starting to connect the conflict more closely with regional security and cross-border threats.”

Still, the legislative process is only just beginning. Before any vote can happen, the bill must first be reviewed by key congressional committees, particularly the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Judiciary Committee. Only after that could it move to debate and a vote in the House of Representatives.

According to Boussaid, even if such proposals do not immediately become law, they send important political signals inside Washington. They can also reshape discussions about the role of different actors involved in the conflict.

Another analyst, Mohamed Fadel Boukadda, head of the Political and Strategic Studies Center of the “Sahrawis for Peace” movement, believes the initiative reflects broader security concerns in the Sahel and West Africa.

He said US lawmakers often respond to accumulating intelligence and strategic assessments when they introduce such bills.

In recent years, the Sahel region has seen growing activity from extremist groups and cross-border smuggling networks, raising alarms among Western policymakers.

Boukada also pointed to the Guerguerat crossing incident in 2020, when tensions escalated and the Polisario leadership declared the end of the 1991 ceasefire. The crossing is considered strategically important for trade between Morocco and the rest of Africa.