S. 3674

[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