SCAM Act
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill amends Section 340 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to create new grounds for stripping naturalized citizens of their citizenship. It establishes that certain actions within 10 years of naturalization—associating with foreign terrorist organizations, committing government fraud of at least ,000, or committing aggravated felonies or espionage—constitute prima facie evidence that the person lacked good moral character at the time of naturalization. Denaturalization is retroactive to the original date of the naturalization certificate.
Who Benefits and How
Federal law enforcement and national security agencies gain expanded tools for removing naturalized citizens involved in terrorism, espionage, and large-scale government fraud. The Attorney General receives new authority to initiate denaturalization proceedings. Communities affected by government benefits fraud may see deterrent effects.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Naturalized citizens face a 10-year window during which certain criminal conduct or associations can result in retroactive loss of citizenship and expedited removal. The retroactivity provision means denaturalized individuals lose all rights and benefits of citizenship back to their original naturalization date. Civil liberties organizations raise concerns about the lower evidentiary standard (prima facie evidence) and the breadth of the "association" trigger for terrorism-related denaturalization.
Key Provisions
- Creates three new denaturalization triggers: foreign terrorist organization association, government fraud of ,000+, and aggravated felonies/espionage
- Applies a 10-year lookback window from date of naturalization (with a 5-year fallback if courts find 10 years unconstitutional)
- Makes denaturalization retroactive to the original naturalization date, voiding the certificate ab initio
- Subjects denaturalized persons to expedited removal proceedings regardless of subsequent immigration status
- Grants the Attorney General authority to initiate denaturalization proceedings alongside existing United States Attorney authority
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Expands grounds for civil denaturalization of naturalized U.S. citizens who commit government fraud, affiliate with foreign terrorist organizations, or commit aggravated felonies or espionage within 10 years of naturalization.
Key Policy Areas
Immigration, National Security, Criminal Justice
Primary Purpose
Expands grounds for civil denaturalization of naturalized U.S. citizens who commit government fraud, affiliate with foreign terrorist organizations, or commit aggravated felonies or espionage within 10 years of naturalization.
Policy Domains
Denaturalization Expansion
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Federal law enforcement agencies
- Attorney General
- National security apparatus
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Naturalized U.S. citizens
- Immigration defense attorneys
- Immigrant communities
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedRead the second time and placed on the calendar
Read the second time. Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under …
Mr. Schmitt introduced the following bill; which was read the …
Introduced in the Senate. Read the first time. Placed on …
Introduced in Senate
Impact analysis is available but no clear stakeholder effects identified. View clause-level analysis →
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "dhs"
- → Department of Homeland Security
- "attorney_general"
- → Attorney General
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology