Consequences for fraud, concealment, false statements, and abuse of the naturalization process

(a) In general Chapter 2 of title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 318 the following: 318A. Naturalization process integrity (a) Mandatory denial The Secretary shall deny an application for naturalization if the Secretary determines that the applicant knowingly— (1) made a false statement or material misrepresentation in the naturalization process; (2) concealed a material fact in the naturalization process; (3) submitted, presented, procured, or relied upon any fraudulent, altered, forged, counterfeit, unlawfully obtained, or materially inaccurate document in the naturalization process; (4) used a false identity, alias, false date of birth, false place of birth, false nationality, false immigration history, or false Social Security account number in the naturalization process; (5) falsely claimed eligibility for naturalization; (6) obstructed, impeded, delayed, or refused to cooperate with any background check, biometric check, criminal-history check, immigration-history check, national-security check, interview, investigation, or request for evidence required for naturalization; (7) concealed any criminal conduct, arrest, charge, conviction, sentence, prior removal, prior unlawful presence, unlawful voting, unlawful registration to vote, unlawful employment, immigration fraud, benefit fraud, tax fraud, gang affiliation, cartel affiliation, terrorist affiliation, association with a foreign terrorist organization, or conduct described in section 316(h), if disclosure of such information was required by statute, regulation, form, instruction, interview, request for evidence, or other lawful request in the naturalization process; (8) procured testimony, sponsorship, documentation, translation, interpretation, representation, or evidence through fraud, coercion, bribery, threat, concealment, or material misrepresentation; or (9) engaged in any other fraudulent or obstructive conduct that was material to the adjudication of the application for naturalization. (b) Permanent bar for serious naturalization fraud or concealment (1) In general Except as provided in subsection (c), an alien described in paragraph (2) shall be permanently ineligible for naturalization. (2) Aliens described An alien is described in this paragraph if the alien knowingly engaged in conduct described in subsection (a) and such conduct involved or concealed— (A) terrorism; (B) espionage; (C) sabotage; (D) knowingly acting as an agent, representative, or instrumentality of a foreign power, or knowingly acting under the direction or control of a foreign power, in a manner materially inconsistent with allegiance to the United States; (E) participation in, assistance to, or material support for a transnational criminal organization, cartel, or criminal gang; (F) a crime of violence, as defined in section 16 of title 18, United States Code; (G) an aggravated felony, as defined in section 101(a)(43); (H) a sex offense, as defined in section 111 of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (34 U.S.C. 20911); (I) child exploitation; (J) human trafficking; (K) unlawful voting or unlawful registration to vote; (L) use of a false identity; (M) prior removal; (N) a false claim of United States citizenship; (O) fraud against the United States, a State, a unit of local government, or an Indian Tribe; (P) benefit fraud involving an amount equal to or greater than $10,000; or (Q) any offense involving bribery, obstruction of justice, perjury, subornation of perjury, witness tampering, or destruction of records in connection with the naturalization process. (c) Exception for certain reasonable belief cases Subsection (b)(2)(N) shall not apply if the alien establishes, by clear and convincing evidence, that each natural parent of the alien, or, in the case of an adopted alien, each adoptive parent of the alien, is or was a citizen of the United States, the alien permanently resided in the United States before attaining the age of 16 years, and the alien reasonably believed at the time of the false claim that the alien was a citizen of the United States. (d) 10 -year bar for other material fraud or concealment Except as provided in subsection (b), an alien who knowingly engages in conduct described in subsection (a) shall be ineligible for naturalization for a period of not less than 10 years beginning on the date on which the Secretary denies the application for naturalization or determines that the alien engaged in such conduct, whichever occurs later. (e) Effect of withdrawal, correction, or claim of immateriality (1) No cure by withdrawal Conduct described in subsection (a) is not cured merely because the applicant withdraws the application for naturalization after such conduct occurs. (2) No cure by correction after detection Conduct described in subsection (a) is not cured merely because the applicant corrects, supplements, or amends the record after the false statement, misrepresentation, concealment, fraud, or obstruction is detected by the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the Department of State, or any other Federal, State, local, Tribal, territorial, or foreign authority. (3) No defense based solely on claim of ultimate eligibility It shall not be a defense to a determination under this section that the applicant asserts that the false statement, misrepresentation, concealment, fraud, or obstruction was unnecessary to ultimate eligibility for naturalization, if the fact at issue was material. (f) Mandatory referral (1) In general If the Secretary determines that there is credible evidence that an applicant has engaged in conduct described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall refer the matter, as appropriate, to— (A) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; (B) the Department of Justice; (C) the Department of State; (D) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; (E) the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security; or (F) any other appropriate Federal agency. (2) Contents of referral A referral under paragraph (1) shall include any relevant application materials, interview records, sworn statements, documentary evidence, biometric information, fraud findings, criminal-history information, immigration-history information, and national-security information available to the Secretary, consistent with applicable law. (g) Removal priority An alien who is denied naturalization under this section shall be treated as a priority for removal if the alien is otherwise removable under this Act. (h) Limitation on subsequent immigration benefits (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), an alien who is denied naturalization under subsection (a) may not receive any discretionary immigration benefit under this Act during the period of ineligibility described in subsection (b) or (d). (2) Exceptions Paragraph (1) shall not apply to— (A) withholding of removal; (B) protection under the Convention Against Torture; (C) an application, petition, or request for relief or protection for which eligibility is required by Federal law to be available notwithstanding fraud or misrepresentation; (D) a law-enforcement certification, protection, or benefit made available to victims, witnesses, or cooperators, if the Secretary or the Attorney General determines that such certification, protection, or benefit is in the national interest; or (E) any other protection that the United States is required to provide under Federal law. (i) Record of fraud determination The Secretary shall maintain a record of any denial or determination under this section and shall ensure that such record is available to officers and employees of the Department of Homeland Security for purposes of adjudicating any subsequent immigration application, petition, request, or benefit. (j) Notice The Secretary shall provide an alien denied naturalization under this section with written notice describing— (1) the basis for the denial; (2) any period of ineligibility imposed under subsection (b) or (d); (3) any referral made under subsection (f), to the extent disclosure is not prohibited by law or contrary to law-enforcement or national-security interests; and (4) any administrative or judicial review available under law. (k) Rule of construction Nothing in this section may be construed to limit— (1) the authority of the United States to prosecute any offense; (2) the authority of the United States to initiate removal proceedings; (3) the authority of the United States to deny any immigration benefit; (4) the authority of the United States to bring a civil denaturalization action under section 340; (5) any ground of inadmissibility or deportability under this Act; or (6) any other consequence provided by law for fraud, concealment, false statements, false documents, perjury, unlawful voting, false claims of citizenship, or obstruction. (l) Definitions In this section, the terms foreign power, material fact, and naturalization process have the meanings given such terms in section 4 of the America First Citizenship and Allegiance Act.. (b) Clerical amendment The table of contents for the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 318 the following: Sec. 318A. Naturalization process integrity.. (c) Conforming amendment Section 318 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1429) is amended by inserting after deportability pursuant to a warrant of arrest issued under the provisions of this or any other Act the following:, or while a fraud determination, background-check investigation, national-security investigation, or referral described in section 318A(f) remains pending with respect to the applicant. (d) Effective date The amendments made by this section shall apply to— (1) any application for naturalization filed on or after the date of enactment of this Act; (2) any application for naturalization pending on the date of enactment of this Act, except that an applicant shall be provided a reasonable opportunity to supplement or correct the application in accordance with procedures established by the Secretary; and (3) any false statement, material misrepresentation, concealment, obstruction, fraudulent submission, or other conduct described in section 318A(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by subsection (a), that occurs on or after the date of enactment of this Act.