Rep. Bill Huizenga has filed the Deport the Terrorists Act, a proposal to strip and deport naturalized citizens convicted of terrorism-related crimes, aiming to speed removal and avoid lengthy denaturalization litigation.
Michigan Republican Representative Bill Huizenga unveiled legislation that would automatically revoke the citizenship of any naturalized American convicted of terror-related offenses and make them immediately removable. The measure is presented as a national security fix to what Republicans see as a slow, paperwork-heavy denaturalization system.
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This bill would automatically revoke the citizenship of any American convicted of terror related crimes and would make them immediately subject to deportation, and also creates new grounds for deportation.
The idea behind the bill is instead of DOJ having to file denaturalization cases and potentially wait years for them to play out in court, the law would expedite that process to automatically and immediately revoke US citizenship and prioritize the subjects for deportation, without going through a lengthy legal process.
Huizenga points out that four naturalized citizens have been convicted of terror-related crimes in recent years, and he uses those cases to argue for statutory clarity. One of those cases is Ayman Muhammad Ghazali, a naturalized citizen from Lebanon who is accused of carrying out the March terror attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
Another case named in the proposal is Mohamed Bilor Jalloh, a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone who shot and killed Lt. Col. Brandon Shah and wounded two others at Old Dominion University. Jalloh previously pleaded guilty to attempting to aid ISIS in 2016 and received an 11-year sentence, but Republicans criticize his early release under the current administration.
Khalid Ouazzani, a naturalized citizen from Morocco, also appears in the list; he admitted to swearing allegiance to al-Qaida and sending substantial funds to the group, pleading guilty in 2010 to providing material support. Salah Osman Ahmed, who traveled to join al-Shabaab, is another naturalized citizen cited in discussions about threats from foreign terror groups.
Beyond naming individuals, the bill attacks the denaturalization process itself as “slow and complex,” the phrase Huizenga uses to describe years-long litigation that, Republicans argue, lets dangerous people stay in the country. The proposal is framed as a way to cut through procedural delays and prioritize public safety over drawn-out court fights.
The Deport the Terrorists Act would create automatic revocation of citizenship for naturalized citizens convicted of specified terror offenses. The list of offenses includes the use of weapons of mass destruction; “acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries;” financing terrorism; bombings targeting public places, government facilities, transportation systems, and critical infrastructure; harboring or concealing terrorists; providing material support for terrorists; providing material support or resources to designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO); receiving military-type training from an FTO.
Republicans expect unanimous Democratic opposition, which the bill’s backers say will help frame the issue ahead of the midterms. Supporters point to recent enforcement actions, like the April ICE arrest of Salah Sarsour — charged abroad for a Molotov attack and accused of lying on travel paperwork — and note how local political allies pushed back against removal efforts.
Critics will call this harsh and raise due process concerns, but Huizenga and other cosponsors argue the measure does not create new crimes; it changes the consequences for certain convictions already recognized as threats. In their view, speed and certainty in removal are essential to keeping communities safe and deterring future attacks.
Practically, passage would shift cases that now consume years of judicial resources into a statute-driven removal path, making those convicted high-priority for immigration enforcement. If enacted, naturalized citizens convicted of the enumerated offenses would be immediately subject to deportation instead of waiting through protracted denaturalization suits.
The bill is now part of the public record and will force votes that highlight the difference between a security-first approach backed by Republicans and the opposition from Democrats and certain judicial allies. Lawmakers on both sides will use the debate to frame their priorities on immigration, national security, and the pace of enforcement.
