Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate on Jan. 15 would create new grounds for denaturalization, the legal process by which the federal government revokes U.S. citizenship, including post-naturalization affiliation with a foreign terrorist organization.
The bill, informally titled the Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation Act, proposes that naturalized citizenship could be revoked in an individual “associates with, conspires with, aids or abets” a U.S. State Department-designated foreign terrorist organization within 10 years of becoming a naturalized citizen.
“American citizenship is a privilege, and anyone hoping to be a part of our great nation must demonstrate a sincere attachment to our Constitution, upstanding moral character and a commitment to the happiness and good order of the United States,” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), the bill’s lead sponsor, stated.
Other proposed grounds for denaturalization include convictions for espionage, an aggravated felony or “defrauding a government program,” according to the bill’s text.
“People who commit felony fraud, serious felonies or join terrorist organizations like drug cartels shortly after taking their citizenship oaths fail to uphold the basic standards of citizenship,” Schmitt stated.
“They must be denaturalized because they have proven they never met the requirements for the great honor of American citizenship in the first place,” he added.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) announced on Monday his plans to introduce a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, stating that “you don’t get to come to this country and take advantage of American citizenship.”
