From the Daily Caller: Immigration hard-liners are taking aim at rules that protect foreign-born U.S. citizens from deportation even if they become terrorists.
Naturalized citizens committed three suspected terrorist attacks in Texas, Michigan and Virginia in a two-week timeframe after the U.S. went to war with Iran’s Islamic regime in February. Other naturalized citizens caught plotting terrorist attacks have been released or are due for release back onto America’s streets, according to Department of Justice (DOJ), court and prison records.
Despite the jihadists’ crimes and increasing calls to expand denaturalizations, shredding their coveted status as American citizens is easier said than done; the system is unlikely to change without Congress passing contentious GOP-backed legislation.
“Naturalized citizens who attack our country and break our laws aren’t true Americans,” Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas told the Daily Caller News Foundation after introducing legislation on March 17 to strip criminals of citizenship, leading to deportation. “My bill creates a fair process to revoke citizenship from terrorists and felons.” The bill currently sits in the Senate Judiciary Committee with no co-sponsors.
There are a few exceptions under the current law.
Denaturalization is permitted if someone fraudulently obtained citizenship, including if someone lied about having joined a foreign terrorist organization before applying.
Also, if someone becomes “affiliated” with a foreign terrorist group within five years of naturalization, this can serve as evidence that they were insincere about their loyalty to America when applying, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website says.
However, the Daily Caller notes that joining a terrorist group more than five years after naturalization would not cost someone their U.S. citizenship, based on current law.
READ MORE from the Daily Caller.
US Law Says These Foreign-Born Terrorists Are Just As American As You: ‘Citizenship is a privilege that demands respect’ https://t.co/dUSlDzJQi6
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 27, 2026
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