H.R. 7958

119 HR 7958 IH: Expatriate Terrorists Act of 2026
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-03-17
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 I
 119th CONGRESS  2d Session
 H. R. 7958
 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 March 17, 2026
  Mr. Harrigan  introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary
 A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to deem specified activities in support of terrorism as renunciation of United States nationality.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Expatriate Terrorists Act of 2026  .
2.
Deportation
(a)
Mandatory detention
Section 236A(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1226a(a) ) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (3), by striking  Deputy Attorney General  each place it appears and inserting  Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ;
(2)
by striking  Attorney General  each place such term appears and inserting  Secretary of Homeland Security ;
(3)
in paragraph (1), by inserting before the period at the end the following:  , unless, with respect to aliens described in section 237(a)(7), the Secretary of Homeland Security determines such detention is not necessary to protect national security or public safety ; and
(4)
in paragraph (3)(A), by striking  or 237(a)(4)(B)  and inserting  237(a)(4)(B), or 237(a)(7) .
(b)
Aliens whose naturalization has been revoked
Section 237(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1227(a) ) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8); and
(2)
by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
(7)
Denaturalized citizens
Any alien who has been denaturalized pursuant to section 340(d) or has relinquished his or her nationality pursuant to section 349(a) is deportable.
  .
3.
Expedited proceeding and prioritization of removal proceedings involving terrorism
Section 238 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1228 ) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating the second subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:
(e)
Expedited proceedings for convicted terrorists and supporters of terrorists
(1)
Authorization
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if an individual has been convicted of an offense under  chapter 113B  of title 18, United States Code, and is subject to denaturalization proceedings under section 340(d), the Secretary of Homeland Security may file for mandatory docketing priority in an appropriate United States district court for the removal of such individual.
(2)
Conduct
In any removal proceeding authorized under paragraph (1)—
(A)
the court shall prioritize such proceeding on its docket;
(B)
a conviction described in paragraph (1) shall create a rebuttable presumption of deportability under section 237(a)(7); and
(C)
removal proceedings may be initiated concurrently with denaturalization proceedings, provided that no removal order may be executed until the denaturalization order is final.
  .
4.
Jurisdiction of certain denaturalization and deportation proceedings
Section 240(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1229a(a)(3) ) is amended by inserting  , including aliens described in section 237(a)(7), subject to review by the Board of Immigration Appeals in accordance with subpart A of part 1003 of title 8, Code of Federal Regulations  after  from the United States .
5.
Additional grounds for denaturalization
(a)
Foreign terrorist organization
Section 313(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1424(a) ) is amended—
(1)
in each of paragraphs (1) through (5), by striking  or  at the end;
(2)
in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and inserting  ; or ; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following:
(7)
who is or has been a member of, joined, or swore allegiance to an organization designated as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219.
  .
(b)
Acts of terrorism
Section 340 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1451 ) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h) as subsections (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i), respectively; and
(2)
by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
(d)
(1)
Any person naturalized after September 30, 1996, who subsequently commits, conspires to commit, attempts to commit, or materially supports the commission of, an act of terrorism (as defined in section 2331 of title 18, United States Code, or section 212(a)(3)(B) of this Act), provides material support or resources (as defined in section 2339A(b) of title 18, United States Code) to a designated foreign terrorist organization or to any individual the person knew or reasonably should have known was engaged in terrorism-related activity, or engages in conduct that would constitute a violation of section 2339A, 2339B, 2339C, or 2339D of title 18, United States Code, shall be considered, at the time he or she was naturalized—
(A)
to have not been attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States; and
(B)
to have not been well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States at the time of naturalization.
(2)
In the absence of countervailing evidence, it shall be sufficient in a proper proceeding—
(A)
to authorize the revocation and setting aside of the order admitting any person described in paragraph (1) to citizenship; and
(B)
to cancel the certificate of naturalization as having been obtained by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.
(3)
The revocation and setting aside of the order admitting a person described in paragraph (1) to citizenship and the canceling of certificate of naturalization authorized under paragraph (2) shall be effective as of the original date of the order and certificate, respectively.
  .
6.
Loss of nationality due to support of terrorism
Section 349(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1481(a) ) is amended—
(1)
in each of paragraphs (1) through (5), by striking  or  at the end;
(2)
in paragraph (1), by striking  relinquishing  and inserting  renouncing ;
(3)
in paragraph (2), by striking  or a political subdivision thereof  and inserting  , a political subdivision thereof, or a designated foreign terrorist organization ;
(4)
by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
(3)
entering, or serving in, the military or an armed group of a foreign state or of a designated foreign terrorist organization if—
(A)
such armed forces are—
(i)
engaged in hostilities against the United States; or
(ii)
intentionally targeting nationals of the United States for acts of terror; or
(B)
such person serves as a commissioned or noncommissioned officer;
  .
(5)
by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and (7) as paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and (8), respectively;
(6)
by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
(4)
becoming a member of, swearing an oath of allegiance to, providing training or material assistance to, or serving in a leadership, operational, logistical, financial, or recruiting capacity for, any organization designated as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219 that such person knows, or has reason to know—
(A)
will engage in hostilities against the United States; or
(B)
will commit acts of terror against the United States or nationals of the United States;
  ;
(7)
in paragraph (5), as redesignated—
(A)
in subparagraph (A), by striking  he  and inserting  the person knowingly ; and
(B)
in subparagraph (B), by striking  allegiance is required; or  and inserting  allegiance to the foreign state or political subdivision is required; ; and
(8)
in paragraph (8), as redesignated, by inserting  or conspiring to provide or attempting to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization,  after  levy war against them, .