WASHINGTON: A US senator has introduced a bill that would make it easier for the administration to revoke the citizenship of naturalised Americans who commit serious crimes, large-scale fraud, or have links to terrorist organisations.
Republican Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri said the legislation is needed to protect the integrity of American citizenship. The bill is called the Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation, or SCAM, Act.
Schmitt said recent fraud cases show that the current system is too weak. He pointed to a major welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota that involved naturalized citizens. He said people who commit serious crimes after taking the oath of citizenship show they never deserved it.