King, Cruz Introduce Expatriate Terrorist Act

U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-IA) and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) today introduced legislation in the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively, titled The Expatriate Terrorist Act of 2015. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) is a co-sponsor of the Senate bill.

“I believe these American terrorists have voluntarily renounced their citizenship upon taking an oath to a foreign terrorist organization,” King said. “That is why Senator Ted Cruz and I have introduced the Expatriate Terrorist Act.”

He said the ETA, if enacted, will fill in “statutory holes” that harbor the rights of American terrorists by providing the Secretary of State the legal authority to revoke a terrorist’s passport. It will also make it clear that if a national of the U.S., by birth or naturalization, chooses to take an oath or pledge allegiance to a designated foreign terrorist organization, that individual has affirmatively renounced American citizenship.

“Such individuals who engage in hostilities or commit acts of terror against the United States are demonstrating they no longer uphold their pledge to the United States,” King said. “Therefore, if a U.S. citizen were to join an FTO and bomb a school in Israel (after pledging their allegiance to Hamas), they would be eligible to lose their U.S. citizenship, and subsequently have their passport revoked.”

Cruz said the U.S. continues to suffer the consequences of the “failed Obama-Clinton-Kerry foreign policy.”

“From Syria to Iraq to Yemen, it is clear that when America withdraws from the world, the world becomes a more dangerous place,” he said. “We must take bold action to protect our homeland by declaring that Americans who have traveled abroad to fight with radical Islamic terrorists have renounced their citizenship, and we must preempt any of their efforts to re-enter the country and launch further attacks on Americans.”