It started with a 25-pound beagle named Freddie.
In June 2025, a 70-year-old Egyptian national named Hamed Ramadan Bayoumy Aly Marie arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport on a flight from Cairo. Freddie, a five-year-old CBP agriculture detector beagle, did his job — he alerted on the man’s luggage. As a CBP handler began questioning Marie about what was in his bags, Marie kicked Freddie hard enough to lift the dog off the ground.
A veterinarian confirmed Freddie suffered contusions to his right forward rib area. Marie’s bags, it turned out, contained 55 pounds of beef, 44 pounds of rice, 15 pounds of vegetables, corn seeds, and herbs — all inadmissible agricultural products he was attempting to smuggle past the dog who caught him.
Marie pleaded guilty, was credited with time served, paid Freddie’s vet bill, and was deported back to Egypt.
Freddie recovered and returned to duty. CBP celebrated him on National Dog Day.
And today, the United States House of Representatives made sure the next person who tries it faces the same fate before they ever set foot in a courtroom.
The House passed H.R. 4638 — the Bill to Outlaw Wounding of Official Working Animals Act, known as the BOWOW Act — today by a vote of 228–190. Republicans voted 212 to zero in favor. Not a single Republican broke ranks. Fifteen Democrats crossed the aisle to join them.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) and co-sponsored by a broad roster of House Republicans including Reps. Tenney, McClintock, Issa, Fitzpatrick, Mace, and others.
What it does is straightforward: any non-citizen who harms a federal law enforcement working animal — K-9 officers, CBP agriculture dogs, military working animals — is immediately deportable and inadmissible to the United States. The bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act directly, adding this offense as an explicit ground for removal. No ambiguity. No lengthy legal maneuvering to establish “moral turpitude.” Hurt a federal working animal, lose your right to be here.
Democratic opposition was led by Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who argued the bill was redundant — pointing to Freddie’s case as evidence the existing system already worked. “Freddie got justice,” Raskin said. “We got a system that actually works.”
One hundred and ninety Democrats agreed with him and voted no.
That argument will be useful to remember the next time Democrats explain that the immigration system doesn’t need any changes.
There are approximately 5,100 working animals in federal service — the vast majority detecting explosives, narcotics, and smuggled agricultural products at ports of entry and on military installations. These animals are trained assets. They are also, in many cases, the first line of defense between a traveler with something to hide and the interior of the United States.
Making it explicitly clear that harming one of them ends your legal right to be in this country does two things: it protects the animals, and it sends a message about what America thinks of people who assault the tools of its law enforcement. These aren’t abstractions. These are working dogs doing jobs human officers can’t do as efficiently, keeping illegal products and dangerous materials out of American communities.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where it will need 60 votes to clear the filibuster. The same 15 Democrats who crossed over in the House suggest it is not impossible — but it will require some Democrats to answer a simple question on the record: do you think someone who kicks a federal K-9 should be allowed to stay in the United States?
Freddie is back on duty at Dulles. Congress did its part today.
