Congress moves to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans convicted of terrorism offenses, with

What it does

This bill creates a new terrorism attestation requirement for naturalization applicants, requiring them to swear under oath that they have not been convicted of terrorism-related offenses and do not intend to commit them. It also allows the government to revoke citizenship of people already naturalized if they are later convicted of terrorism offenses, even decades after naturalization, with no statute of limitations. Once denaturalized, such persons become deportable and permanently barred from re-entry.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is a dual-track system: (1) a prospective attestation requirement for new naturalization applicants, and (2) retroactive denaturalization authority for people already naturalized, with broad evidentiary standards and presumptions favoring the government. The title accurately describes the function, but the scope and retroactive reach are the substantive story.

What the text implies

• Naturalized citizens face permanent legal vulnerability to denaturalization based on convictions occurring decades after naturalization, with no statute of limitations—a status not shared by natural-born citizens, creating a two-tier citizenship system.
• The bill allows civil denaturalization proceedings based on classified evidence reviewed only by the court in camera and ex parte, limiting the defendant's ability to see or contest the full case against them, even in a civil proceeding.
• A rebuttable presumption shifts the burden to the defendant to prove by 'clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence' that their attestation was truthful—an unusually high standard for a civil proceeding and a reversal of normal burden allocation.
• The 10-year lookback window for 'prima facie evidence' of illegal procurement, with fallback to 7 or 5 years if challenged as unconstitutional, creates a moving target and suggests the provision may not survive constitutional scrutiny.
• Denaturalized persons can be detained indefinitely pending removal if removal cannot be effectuated, with only 180-day judicial review intervals, potentially creating indefinite detention of stateless persons.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill creates a legitimate security screening mechanism for new citizens by requiring attestation about terrorism convictions and intent—a reasonable public-safety measure. However, it also grants the government broad power to retroactively strip citizenship from people already naturalized based on convictions occurring years or decades later, with presumptions that shift the burden of proof to the defendant and allow civil denaturalization proceedings based on classified evidence the defenda

Named in the bill

Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Attorney General, Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 316, 340, 237, 212, 244, 245, 236, 240, Title 18 USC (terrorism offenses), Federal courts, US Attorneys

Where it stands

15 cosponsors: 15 Republicans.

• Apr 16, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Apr 16, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.