Expatriate Terrorists Act of 2026: New Rules Could Revoke Citizenship and Fast-Track Deportations for Terrorism Ties

The Expatriate Terrorists Act of 2026 significantly reshapes the legal landscape for naturalized citizens and non-citizens by expanding the grounds for revoking citizenship and speeding up the deportation process. The bill introduces a mechanism where a naturalized citizen can lose their status retroactively if they are found to have supported a designated terrorist organization after they became a citizen. It also shifts major enforcement powers from the Department of Justice to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), specifically giving the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Director of ICE more control over mandatory detention and removal proceedings.

The Retroactive Reset Button

One of the most significant changes in this bill is found in Section 5, which targets anyone naturalized after September 30, 1996. If a person is found to have committed or supported a terrorist act after that date, the law treats their citizenship as if it were never valid in the first place. This isn't just a future-facing rule; it’s a retroactive look-back. For example, a person who has lived as a U.S. citizen for twenty years but is later found to have provided 'material support' to a group the government labels as a foreign terrorist organization could have their naturalization canceled. The bill specifically states this cancellation is treated as if the person lied during their original citizenship application, effectively erasing their legal status back to the day they were sworn in.

Redefining 'American' through Actions

Section 6 of the bill expands how a person can lose their nationality through their conduct. While current law focuses on serving in a foreign state's military, this new language includes serving in the 'armed forces of a designated foreign terrorist organization.' It also adds a broad 'knowingly' standard: if someone provides logistical, financial, or recruiting support for a group they should have known would target U.S. nationals, they can lose their nationality. This creates a wide net that could catch individuals in various roles—from someone providing technical training to someone handling digital logistics—even if they aren't on a literal battlefield. The bill also updates the definition of treasonous acts to include conspiring to provide material support to these groups, which triggers an automatic loss of nationality.

Fast-Tracking the Exit Door

For those the government seeks to remove, the bill creates an 'express lane' for deportation. Section 3 allows the Secretary of Homeland Security to ask a federal court to move terrorism-related removal cases to the very top of the docket, jumping ahead of other legal matters. If an individual is convicted of a terrorism-related crime and is also facing denaturalization, the law creates a 'rebuttable presumption' that they are deportable. In plain English, the government starts with the assumption that you should be kicked out, and the burden of proof shifts to you to prove why you shouldn't be. While a person cannot be physically deported until their citizenship revocation is final, the removal proceedings can happen simultaneously with the denaturalization case, significantly cutting down the time a person might spend in the legal system before being sent abroad.

Shifting Power to DHS

Beyond the rules for individuals, the bill changes who holds the keys to the process. Section 2 moves authority away from the Attorney General and places it in the hands of the Secretary of Homeland Security. This includes the power to decide who stays in mandatory detention. While the bill allows the Secretary to decline detaining someone if they aren't a threat to national security, it adds 'denaturalized citizens' to the list of people who are generally subject to mandatory detention. This shift consolidates power within the agency responsible for policing and border enforcement, potentially reducing the traditional oversight role of the Department of Justice in these specific national security cases.