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 cit-
izen means not only having the right to live and 
work in the United States and gaining access to var-
ious social, economic, and political benefits, but also 
accepting sacred duties and obligations to our Na-
tion. 
(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 administra-
tive benefit granting them access to privileges, im-
munities, and benefits they can leverage for their 
own personal gain. 
(3) Naturalization is a long-standing, time-hon-
ored, 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 Con-
stitution of the United States; and 
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(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 Con-
stitution 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 ter-
rorist 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 espio-
nage 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— 
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(A) a person of good moral character; 
(B) attached to the principles of the Con-
stitution 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 ag-
gravated felony is deportable and designated as per-
manently ineligible for naturalization and any person 
who has been convicted of an aggravated felony after 
being extended the privilege of United States citizen-
ship demonstrates, both at the time of such convic-
tion 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 Con-
stitution 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)). 
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(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 pro-
cured when prescribed qualifications have no exist-
ence 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 Con-
gress 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 stat-
ed 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 cer-
tain criminal offenses, that, at the time they were natural-
ized, they lacked the good moral character, attachment to 
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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 natu-
ralized 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 fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d) MEMBERSHIP IN FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANI-
ZATION.—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 
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219(a)), such action shall be considered prima facie and 
sufficient evidence that— 
‘‘(1) such person, at the time of his or her nat-
uralization— 
‘‘(A) was not a person of good moral char-
acter; 
‘‘(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 citizen-
ship— 
‘‘(A) was obtained by concealment of a ma-
terial 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 cer-
tificate of naturalization shall be effective as of the 
original date of such order and certificate, respec-
tively. 
‘‘(e) DEFRAUDING FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, OR 
TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.—If a person who has been natu-
ralized under this chapter is convicted of, admits to having 
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committed, or admits to committing acts constituting the 
essential elements of, an offense involving fraud, an at-
tempt 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 sec-
tion 401 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Oppor-
tunity 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 oc-
curred 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 nat-
uralization— 
‘‘(A) was not a person of good moral char-
acter; 
‘‘(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; 
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‘‘(2) the order admitting such person to citizen-
ship— 
‘‘(A) was obtained by concealment of a ma-
terial 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 cer-
tificate of naturalization shall be effective as of the 
original date of such order and certificate, respec-
tively. 
‘‘(f) COMMITTING AN AGGRAVATED FELONY OR ES-
PIONAGE OFFENSE.—If a person who has been natural-
ized 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 
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shall be considered prima facie and sufficient evidence 
that— 
‘‘(1) such person, at the time of his or her nat-
uralization— 
‘‘(A) was not a person of good moral char-
acter; 
‘‘(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 citizen-
ship— 
‘‘(A) was obtained by concealment of a ma-
terial 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 cer-
tificate of naturalization shall be effective as of the 
original date of such order and certificate, respec-
tively. 
‘‘(g) FALLBACK PROVISION.—If the 10-year period 
set forth in subsection (d), (e), or (f) is held to be uncon-
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stitutional 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 judi-
cial opinion in Luria v. United States, 231 U.S. 27 
(1913); and 
‘‘(2) every court of the United States shall con-
strue 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 can-
cellation 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 cer-
tificate of naturalization is cancelled under this sec-
tion shall be removable pursuant to expedited pro-
ceedings 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.’’. 
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SEC. 5. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 
this Act, or the application of such a provision or amend-
ment 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. 
Æ 
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