Bicameral legislation would strip the citizenship of naturalized U.S. citizens who commit or support terrorism and remove them from the United States.
Under current law, it is difficult to strip citizenship once citizenship has been granted. The Expatriate Terrorists Act amends current law to state that individuals who commit, attempt to commit, materially support terrorism, or join or assist designated foreign terrorist organizations, can be denaturalized and treated as deportable.
The bill creates a presumption of deportability for convicted terrorists, allows removal proceedings to move forward alongside denaturalization, and requires courts to prioritize these cases. It also mandates detention for individuals subject to removal on terrorism grounds.
“Current law makes it nearly impossible to strip citizenship from individuals who turn around and support or commit terrorism,” U.S. Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC), who introduced the bill with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), said. “That is unacceptable. The Expatriate Terrorists Act fixes that by expanding the grounds for denaturalization, eliminating the intent requirement, and mandating immediate detention and deportation once citizenship is revoked. If you come to this country, take the oath, and then side with terrorists, you have forfeited your right to be here.”
The legislation is in response to recent terrorist attacks in Texas, New York, Virginia, and Michigan.