Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) wants to denaturalize criminals convicted of felonies and terrorists with new legislation that would add any felony conviction as grounds for revocation of naturalization.
The Naturalization Accountability Act was obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter and is Cotton’s latest tough-on-crime provision. For years, Cotton has been one of the Republican Party’s strongest voices on public safety issues.
“American citizenship is sacred and should not be given to criminals and terrorists under false pretenses,” Cotton said. “My bill will keep Arkansans safer by subjecting felons and terrorists to denaturalization proceedings when appropriate.”
The Naturalization Accountability Act also eliminates the five-year limitation post-naturalization for membership in a terrorist organization to be evidence against an individual for denaturalization. It also eliminates the ten-year statute of limitations that exists for a criminal denaturalization case in federal district court.
It further adds any felony conviction that occurred before, during, or after naturalization as grounds for revoking citizenship, to ensure that any naturalized citizen who is a member or affiliated with a terrorist organization, at any point after receiving citizenship, is subject to having his or her citizenship revoked. It allows denaturalization criminal proceedings against an individual at any point after receiving citizenship.
Cotton’s bill follows an uptick in high-profile terrorist attacks in America that have been conducted by foreign-born Islamic terrorists; it also follows years of increased retail theft across the country.
