WASHINGTON, D.C. -- West Michigan Congressman Bill Huizenga is expounding on the federal bill he introduced earlier this week that would revoke the citizenship of naturalized citizens who are convicted of a terrorist offense.
Under federal law, a naturalized citizen cannot be deported unless their citizenship is revoked through a process called denaturalization.
"And I was just floored to learn that there were people being convicted of terrorism acts who weren't born here, who were given citizenship, and we had no recourse," Huizenga told WOOD Radio News in a telephone interview. "We had no ability to say, 'Sorry, you've lost that citizenship."
Naturalization can be revoked in federal court through civil or criminal proceedings, which are often handled by the Department of Justice. Such a person could be placed in standard removal proceedings before an immigration judge to face deportation
Huizenga tells WOOD Radio News that naturalized citizens who are convicted on terrorism charges would automatically have their citizenship revoked under his "Deport the Terrorists Act." They could then be deported immediately.
"If they are convicted - not just charged - but convicted of terrorism counts, I don't believe that they should remain a U.S. citizen," Huizenga said. "So, my bill would actually strip them of their citizenship. And that would then be an opportunity to deport them. And I think that this is just common sense."
However, there can be a fine line in determining whether a certain person is a U.S. citizen, under specific circumstances. According to federal law, someone who is born overseas to a U.S. military member is not automatically designated as a U.S. citizen at birth. There are some rules about whether a child acquired "natural born" citizenship at birth.
In April, West Virginia Congressman Riley Moore introduced similar legislation titled the Denaturalization and Expulsion of Persons Who Orchestrate Radical Terrorism (DEPORT) Act. It would give the government more teeth to deport people who commit or support terrorist acts.
Both bills target the denaturalization and removal of naturalized citizens convicted of terrorist acts. The difference is that Rep. Huizenga's legislation includes an automatic legal trigger for revoking citizenship, bypassing the standard Department of Justice denaturalization lawsuits that can be tied up in courtrooms, stalling deportation. Huizenga's bill also targets naturalized citizens at the point of criminal conviction, regardless of how long they have been a citizen.
Huizenga's proposed legislation was introduced on Monday.
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