H.R. 6975: Fraud Accountability Act

The **Fraud Accountability Act** proposes several amendments related to immigration laws concerning fraud. Here’s a breakdown of its main provisions:

Inclusion of Fraud as a Deportable Offense

The bill introduces a significant change to the Immigration and Nationality Act by making it clear that any non-citizen (alien) convicted of fraud will be subject to deportation. Specifically, it states:

• Any alien convicted of a fraud-related crime against individuals, corporations, funds, or government entities will be deportable.

Mandatory Detention for Certain Offenses

The legislation expands the list of offenses that trigger mandatory detention of aliens. It revises the existing immigration laws to ensure that those convicted of fraud offenses, along with other serious crimes, must be held in detention.

Denaturalization for Fraud and Criminal Offenses

Another major aspect of the bill is the provision for denaturalization:

• If a naturalized U.S. citizen is convicted of specific crimes, including fraud, a court must act to revoke their citizenship.
• This involves cancelling their naturalization certificate and declaring their citizenship void.

This provision grants any court that enters such a conviction the authority to carry out the revocation of citizenship.

Effective Date and Applicability

The act specifies that it would take effect immediately upon enactment. Also, the rules regarding denaturalization apply to fraud committed by aliens from September 30, 1996, onward, but only if the individual was not already arrested or charged for those acts before this law is enacted.

Summary of Outcomes

In summary, the Fraud Accountability Act aims to tighten immigration policies related to fraud by imposing stricter consequences for non-citizens and certain naturalized citizens found guilty of fraud-related offenses. This includes the potential for deportation and automatic denaturalization under specific conditions.

Relevant Companies

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