DEPORTING FRAUDSTERS ACT OF 2026

DEPORTING FRAUDSTERS ACT OF 2026

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 49 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 18, 2026)] [House] [Pages H2568-H2576] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] DEPORTING FRAUDSTERS ACT OF 2026 Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, Pursuant to House Resolution 1115, I call up the bill (H.R. 1958) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to clarify that aliens who have been convicted of defrauding the United States Government or the unlawful receipt of public benefits are inadmissible and deportable, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows: H.R. 1958 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Deporting Fraudsters Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. INADMISSIBILITY AND DEPORTABILITY RELATED TO DEFRAUDING THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT OR THE UNLAWFUL RECEIPT OF PUBLIC BENEFITS. (a) Inadmissibility.--Section 212(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(J) Defrauding the united states government or the unlawful receipt of public benefits.--Any alien who has been convicted of, who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of-- ``(i) an offense described in section 15 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2024) (relating to violations of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits); ``(ii) an offense described in section 208 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408) (relating to fraud involving social security account numbers or social security cards); ``(iii) an offense described in section 666 of title 18, United States Code (relating to theft or bribery concerning programs receiving Federal funds); ``(iv) an offense described in section 1028 of title 18, United States Code (relating to fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information); ``(v) an offense described in section 1031 of title 18, United States Code (relating to major fraud against the United States); ``(vi) an offense described under chapter 63 of title 18, United States Code (relating to mail fraud and other fraud offenses); ``(vii) an offense described in section 371 of title 18, United States Code (relating to conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States); ``(viii) any other offense that involves defrauding the United States Government or the unlawful receipt of a Federal public benefit (as such term is defined in section 401(c) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611) or a State or local public benefit (as such term is defined in section 411(c) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1621)); or ``(ix) a conspiracy to commit an offense described in clause (i) through (viii), is inadmissible.''. (b) Deportability.--Section 237(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(G) Defrauding the united states government or the unlawful receipt of public benefits.--Any alien who has been convicted of, who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of-- ``(i) an offense described in section 15 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2024) (relating to violations of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits); ``(ii) an offense described in section 208 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408) (relating to fraud involving social security account numbers or social security cards); ``(iii) an offense described in section 666 of title 18, United States Code (relating to theft or bribery concerning programs receiving Federal funds); ``(iv) an offense described in section 1028 of title 18, United States Code (relating to fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information); ``(v) an offense described in section 1031 of title 18, United States Code (relating to major fraud against the United States); ``(vi) an offense described under chapter 63 of title 18, United States Code (relating to mail fraud and other fraud offenses); ``(vii) an offense described in section 371 of title 18, United States Code (relating to conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States); ``(viii) any other offense that involves defrauding the United States Government or the unlawful receipt of a Federal public benefit (as such term is defined in section 401(c) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611)) or a State or local public benefit (as such term is defined in section 411(c) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1621)); or ``(ix) a conspiracy to commit an offense described in clause (i) through (viii), is deportable.''. (c) Ineligibility for Any Immigration Relief.--Any alien described in subparagraph (J) of section 212(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1128(a)(2)(J)) or subparagraph (G) of section 237(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)) shall be ineligible for any relief under the immigration laws (as such term is defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101)), including under section 2242 of the Omnibus Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 (112 Stat. 2681). The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1115, the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary, printed in the bill, is adopted and the bill, as amended, is considered read. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees. The gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each will control 30 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California. General Leave Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1958. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California? There was no objection. Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, for years, Republicans on the Committee on the Judiciary have sounded the alarm about the costs of the Democrats' open-border policies on our schools, hospitals, homeless shelters, food banks, law enforcement, and American wages. What we are now discovering is that many within these populations immediately set out to rob our country of literally billions of dollars paid by American taxpayers to help needy Americans. Worse still, evidence is now emerging from whistleblowers that this was done while Democratic officials in sanctuary jurisdictions deliberately turned a blind eye to industrial-scale larceny in exchange for political support. We have already heard from TSA agents who watched helplessly as Somali immigrants brazenly shipped millions of dollars out of this country in their carry-on luggage while alarms to the Biden-Harris administration were simply ignored. We have heard audio recordings of these criminals discussing with Minnesota's Democratic attorney general how they had each other's backs. We have heard whistleblowers tell us their warnings to Minnesota's Governor, resulting in retaliation against them, but no actions to stop the fraudsters. One estimate is that the Minnesota scandal accounts for some $9 billion of stolen funds. As investigators begin turning over rocks in other Democratic sanctuary jurisdictions, like California and New York, this may prove just the tip of an iceberg of corruption. There is more. Although this fraud may well end up implicating thousands of illegal aliens allowed into our country and then protected from prosecution by the Democrats, Social Security fraud and other fraud offenses implicate literally millions. Yet, our ability to remove such fraudsters is hamstrung by the courts, sometimes for decades. In one case from 2017, the Board of Immigration Appeals held that an alien was not removable from the United States for having committed an aggravated felony despite the alien's fraud conviction for $169,000 in food stamps theft. In another case, an alien was placed in removal proceedings in 2005 while he remained until at least 2013, when his case finally made its way to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to determine whether his conviction for conspiracy to traffic in identification documents made him removable from the United States. Another fraudster spent 2 years challenging his removal proceedings even though he admitted that he had received up to $3.5 million through food stamp fraud. [[Page H2569]] Other cases with aliens convicted of wire fraud and food stamp fraud languished for 1\1/2\ years to 4 years, respectively, before a Federal court finally upheld their removal orders. In many other cases, aliens remained eligible to stay in the United States indefinitely despite their fraud convictions. The Deporting Fraudsters Act of 2026, introduced by our colleague, Dave Taylor, streamlines this removal process. The bill is simple. If you admit to or are convicted of fraudulently receiving public benefits or committing other fraud offenses, you are out of here on the next plane and can never return. This bill also incorporates my Consequences for Social Security Fraud Act, which the House passed on a bipartisan basis 2 years ago. That bill simply says that if you are an alien who admits to or is convicted of Social Security fraud or identification document fraud, you cannot e

Referenced legislation: HRES1115, HRES1115, HR1958