Bill Summary
The "Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation Act" (SCAM Act) aims to strengthen and clarify the grounds for civil denaturalization of individuals who have committed serious offenses after becoming naturalized citizens. Specifically, it targets those found guilty of defrauding government programs, associating with terrorist organizations, or committing certain aggravated felonies.
Key provisions of the Act include:
1. **Expanded Grounds for Denaturalization**: The Act allows for denaturalization if an individual is convicted of fraud against government entities, joins foreign terrorist organizations, or commits aggravated felonies within ten years of naturalization. Such actions would indicate a lack of good moral character and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution.
2. **Prima Facie Evidence**: Conviction for the aforementioned offenses is considered prima facie evidence that the individual was not of good moral character at the time of naturalization. This means that the burden of proof shifts to the individual to contest this presumption.
3. **Retroactive Effect**: Any denaturalization resulting from this Act would be retroactive, meaning that the individual’s citizenship would be treated as void from the original date it was granted.
4. **Immediate Removability**: Individuals denaturalized under this Act would be subject to expedited removal proceedings, regardless of their immigration status post-denaturalization.
5. **Severability**: The Act includes a clause ensuring that if any part of it is found unconstitutional, the remaining provisions will still stand.
Overall, the SCAM Act emphasizes the importance of responsible citizenship and seeks to ensure that naturalized citizens adhere to their obligations to the nation.
Possible Impacts
The "Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation Act" (or SCAM Act) has the potential to affect people in various ways. Here are three examples:
1. **Increased Risk of Denaturalization**: Individuals who have obtained U.S. citizenship and later engage in activities deemed as fraudulent (e.g., defrauding government programs) or associated with terrorist organizations may face civil denaturalization proceedings. This could lead to the loss of their citizenship status and the associated rights and privileges, including the ability to live and work in the U.S. This law can create anxiety and uncertainty among naturalized citizens, particularly those who may have had past legal issues or who are linked to individuals involved in criminal activities.
2. **Impact on Immigrant Communities**: The legislation could have a chilling effect on immigrant communities, as fear of denaturalization may deter individuals from seeking assistance or reporting crimes. This could foster mistrust between immigrant populations and law enforcement or government agencies, as people might avoid engaging with authorities to prevent any scrutiny of their citizenship status. The fear of being denaturalized could also impact immigrant integration efforts and community cohesion.
3. **Legal and Procedural Changes**: The Act would expand the grounds for denaturalization and streamline the process for the Attorney General to pursue such cases. This may lead to an increase in legal challenges and litigation around citizenship status, as affected individuals may contest the denaturalization process in court. Legal representation could become a necessity for many, leading to increased legal costs and potential barriers for those unable to afford counsel. Additionally, immigration courts may experience a backlog due to the increase in denaturalization cases, affecting the overall immigration system.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3674 Placed on Calendar Senate (PCS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 301
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3674
To expand and clarify the grounds for civil denaturalization
proceedings for individuals who have defrauded a governmental program,
joined a terrorist organization, or committed certain criminal
offenses.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 15, 2026
Mr. Schmitt introduced the following bill; which was read the first
time
January 26, 2026
Read the second time and placed on the calendar
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To expand and clarify the grounds for civil denaturalization
proceedings for individuals who have defrauded a governmental program,
joined a terrorist organization, or committed certain criminal
offenses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Citizenship Abuse and
Misrepresentation Act'' or the ``SCAM Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Becoming a naturalized United States citizen means not
only having the right to live and work in the United States and
gaining access to various social, economic, and political
benefits, but also accepting sacred duties and obligations to
our Nation.
(2) In recent years, many naturalized citizens have
betrayed those sacred duties and obligations, eschewed
responsible citizenship, and instead viewed their new
citizenship status as a purely administrative benefit granting
them access to privileges, immunities, and benefits they can
leverage for their own personal gain.
(3) Naturalization is a long-standing, time-honored, and
essential American tradition.
(4) An applicant wishing to become a citizen of the United
States must demonstrate, at the time of naturalization, that he
or she is--
(A) a person of good moral character;
(B) attached to the principles of the Constitution
of the United States; and
(C) well disposed to the good order and happiness
of the United States.
(5) Any person who has been convicted of fraud against a
governmental program demonstrates moral turpitude and any
person who has been convicted of fraud against a governmental
program after being extended the privilege of United States
citizenship demonstrates, both at the time of such conviction
and at the time of his or her naturalization, that he or she is
not and was not--
(A) a person of good moral character;
(B) attached to the principles of the Constitution
of the United States; and
(C) well disposed to the good order and happiness
of the United States.
(6) Any person who affiliates with a foreign terrorist
organization, such as a drug cartel, or engages in espionage
puts our Nation's security at great risk of degradation and any
person who affiliates with a foreign terrorist organization or
engages in espionage after being extended the privilege of
United States citizenship demonstrates, both at the time of
such affiliation or espionage and at the time of his or her
naturalization, that he or she is not and was not--
(A) a person of good moral character;
(B) attached to the principles of the Constitution
of the United States; and
(C) well disposed to the good order and happiness
of the United States.
(7) Any alien who has been convicted of an aggravated
felony is deportable and designated as permanently ineligible
for naturalization and any person who has been convicted of an
aggravated felony after being extended the privilege of United
States citizenship demonstrates, both at the time of such
conviction and at the time of his or her naturalization, that
he or she is not and was not--
(A) a person of good moral character;
(B) attached to the principles of the Constitution
of the United States; and
(C) well disposed to the good order and happiness
of the United States.
(8) As the Supreme Court has noted: ``An alien has no moral
nor constitutional right to retain the privileges of
citizenship if, by false evidence or the like, an imposition
has been practiced upon the court, without which the
certificate could not and would not have been issued.''
(Johannessen v. United States, 225 U.S. 227, 241 (1912)).
(9) The Supreme Court has also explained: ``No alien has
the slightest right to naturalization unless all statutory
requirements are complied with; and every certificate of
citizenship must be treated as granted upon condition that the
government may challenge it . . . and demand its cancelation
unless issued in accordance with such requirements. If procured
when prescribed qualifications have no existence in fact, it is
illegally procured . . . .'' (United States v. Ginsberg, 243
U.S. 472, 475 (1917)).
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the
Supreme Court, in Costello v. INS, 376 U.S. 120 (1964), misconstrued
the effects of denaturalization under section 340 of the Immigration
and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1451) for the reasons stated in the
concurring opinion in Castillo v. Bondi, 140 F.4th 777 (6th Cir. 2025)
(Thapar, J., concurring).
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to expand and clarify the grounds for
the United States to pursue civil denaturalization proceedings against
individuals who have proven, by defrauding a governmental program,
affiliating with a foreign terrorist organization, or committing
certain criminal offenses, that, at the time they were naturalized,
they lacked the good moral character, attachment to the Constitution of
the United States, and disposition to the good order and happiness of
the United States that our Nation demands of those who desire to become
naturalized citizens.
SEC. 4. EXPANDING AND CLARIFYING DENATURALIZATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO
LACK GOOD MORAL CHARACTER AND AN ATTACHMENT TO THE
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AND ARE NOT WELL
DISPOSED TO THE GOOD ORDER AND HAPPINESS OF THE UNITED
STATES.
Section 340 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1451)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``the Attorney General
or'' after ``It shall be the duty of'';
(2) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), and
(h) as subsections (i), (j), (k), (l), and (m), respectively;
and
(3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
``(d) Membership in Foreign Terrorist Organization.--If a person,
during the 10-year period beginning on the date on which he or she was
naturalized under this chapter, associates with, conspires with, aids,
or abets any foreign terrorist organization (as designated under
section 219(a)), such action shall be considered prima facie and
sufficient evidence that--
``(1) such person, at the time of his or her
naturalization--
``(A) was not a person of good moral character;
``(B) was not attached to the principles of the
Constitution of the United States; and
``(C) was not well disposed to the good order and
happiness of the United States;
``(2) the order admitting such person to citizenship--
``(A) was obtained by concealment of a material
fact or by willful misrepresentation; and
``(B) shall be revoked and set aside, along with
the cancellation of his or her certificate of
naturalization; and
``(3) such revocation and setting aside of such admission
order and such cancellation of such certificate of
naturalization shall be effective as of the original date of
such order and certificate, respectively.
``(e) Defrauding Federal, State, Local, or Tribal Governments.--If
a person who has been naturalized under this chapter is convicted of,
admits to having committed, or admits to committing acts constituting
the essential elements of, an offense involving fraud, an attempt to
defraud, or conspiracy to defraud the Federal Government, a State
government, a local government, or a tribal government (such as
defrauding the United States Government of a Federal public benefit (as
defined in section 401 of the Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611(c)) or defrauding
a State or local government of a State or local public benefit (as
defined in section 411(c) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1621(c))), of at least
$10,000, and any act or acts leading to such conviction or admission
began or occurred during the 10-year period beginning on the date of
his or her naturalization, such conviction or admission shall be
considered prima facie and sufficient evidence that--
``(1) such person, at the time of his or her
naturalization--
``(A) was not a person of good moral character;
``(B) was not attached to the principles of the
Constitution of the United States; and
``(C) was not well disposed to the good order and
happiness of the United States;
``(2) the order admitting such person to citizenship--
``(A) was obtained by concealment of a material
fact or by willful misrepresentation; and
``(B) shall be revoked and set aside, along with
the cancellation of his or her certificate of
naturalization; and
``(3) such revocation and setting aside of such admission
order and such cancellation of such certificate of
naturalization shall be effective as of the original date of
such order and certificate, respectively.
``(f) Committing an Aggravated Felony or Espionage Offense.--If a
person who has been naturalized under this chapter is convicted of,
admits to having committed, or admits to committing acts constituting
the essential elements of, an aggravated felony or espionage offense
(including any offense described in section 792, 793, 794, 795, 796,
797, 798, 951, 1030(a)(1), 1831, 1832, 2152, 2153, 2154, 2155, or 2156
of title 18, United States Code; or an offense described in section 783
or 3121 of title 50, United States Code), and any act or acts leading
to such conviction or admission began or occurred during the 10-year
period beginning on the date on which he or she was naturalized, such
conviction or admission shall be considered prima facie and sufficient
evidence that--
``(1) such person, at the time of his or her
naturalization--
``(A) was not a person of good moral character;
``(B) was not attached to the principles of the
Constitution of the United States; and
``(C) was not well disposed to the good order and
happiness of the United States;
``(2) the order admitting such person to citizenship--
``(A) was obtained by concealment of a material
fact or by willful misrepresentation; and
``(B) shall be revoked and set aside, along with
the cancellation of his or her certificate of
naturalization; and
``(3) such revocation and setting aside of such admission
order and such cancellation of such certificate of
naturalization shall be effective as of the original date of
such order and certificate, respectively.
``(g) Fallback Provision.--If the 10-year period set forth in
subsection (d), (e), or (f) is held to be unconstitutional or
constitutionally insufficient by final judicial decision, for purposes
of interpreting this Act--
``(1) such 10-year period shall be deemed to be a 5-year
period, consistent with the published judicial opinion in Luria
v. United States, 231 U.S. 27 (1913); and
``(2) every court of the United States shall construe such
period to be 5 years.
``(h) Effects of Denaturalization.--
``(1) Effective date.--The revocation and setting aside of
a person's admission order and cancellation of the person's
certificate of naturalization under this section shall be
effective as of the original date of such order and
certificate, respectively. Such denaturalization shall have
retroactive effect, and the certificate of naturalization shall
be treated as void from the date on which it was issued.
``(2) Removability.--Any person whose certificate of
naturalization is cancelled under this section shall be
removable pursuant to expedited proceedings described in
section 238, regardless of--
``(A) the person's immigration status after
denaturalization; and
``(B) the time that has elapsed since the date on
which such person was naturalized.''.
SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the
application of such a provision or amendment to any particular person
or circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remaining
provisions of this Act and amendments made by this Act, and the
application of such provisions and amendments to any other person or
circumstance, shall not be affected.
Calendar No. 301
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3674
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To expand and clarify the grounds for civil denaturalization
proceedings for individuals who have defrauded a governmental program,
joined a terrorist organization, or committed certain criminal
offenses.
_______________________________________________________________________
January 26, 2026
Read the second time and placed on the calendar