Senator Marsha Blackburn and a group of Senate conservatives moved this week to do what Washington should have done long ago: criminal fraud will be treated as grounds for removal from this country. On January 9, 2026, Blackburn joined Senators John Cornyn, Tom Cotton, and Ted Budd in introducing the Fraud Accountability Act, a common-sense bill that explicitly adds fraud as a deportable offense under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Americans who work for every dollar they earn deserve a government that protects them from thieves, not one that shelters them.
The text of the Fraud Accountability Act makes two clear changes: it amends the INA to make any crime of fraud deportable and it allows for the denaturalization of anyone who committed fraud to obtain citizenship. This isn’t legal nitpicking — it’s a direct fix to a system that has let grifters exploit vague legal categories like “moral turpitude” to remain in the country. If you lied, bilked taxpayers, or siphoned federal funds, your right to live here should be forfeited.
This legislation didn’t arise in a vacuum; it follows jaw-dropping fraud schemes uncovered in Minnesota and other states where fake nonprofits and childcare centers allegedly stole taxpayer dollars on an industrial scale. Federal prosecutors say the Minnesota schemes could exceed billions, and conservatives rightly point to the Biden administration’s rollback of verification rules as part of the problem. The Fraud Accountability Act is a necessary response to those scandals — a message that stealing from Americans will have swift, real consequences.
Let’s be blunt: those who come to this country to game our system are not “undocumented victims,” they are criminals who chose to rob hard-working Americans. Senator Blackburn’s language — that fraudsters should be deported and denaturalized — reflects a moral clarity sorely missing in today’s political class. We should applaud leaders willing to call out predatory schemes and close loopholes that let fraud flourish.
Democrats and sympathetic governors who reflexively defend these actors instead of demanding accountability deserve the public’s scorn. Senator Cornyn explicitly called out Governor Walz’s deflection in the Minnesota case, and Republicans are right to make clear where responsibility lies for protecting taxpayers. This fight is about more than immigration paperwork; it’s about respect for law, order, and the American family budget.
Practically speaking, the bill would also give immigration authorities clearer tools to detain those accused of fraud during removal proceedings and to revoke citizenship obtained through deceit. House Republicans have signaled support, and the bicameral nature of the push shows this is not a fringe idea but a mainstream demand for integrity in our immigration system. Conservatives should press for rapid hearings and absolute accountability for anyone proven to have defrauded American programs.
This is a moment for lawmakers to choose sides — with hardworking taxpayers or with people who think America is an ATM. Pass the Fraud Accountability Act, deport and denaturalize those who stole from us, and send a clear warning that the American experiment will not be tolerated as a playground for grifters. Patriots want concrete action, and this bill is exactly the kind of bold, commonsense reform that protects families, secures the border, and restores the rule of law.
