Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., on Thursday renewed his effort to expand denaturalization of naturalized citizens who commit fraud, serious felonies or join terrorist organizations, citing two violent incidents that day involving naturalized U.S. citizens.
Schmitt urged passage of his Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation, or SCAM, Act in a post on X, saying, “After the SAVE America Act, we must pass the SCAM Act so we can denaturalize & deport those who are here to hurt Americans.” He referred to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require voters in federal elections to prove citizenship by providing a photo ID and other documentation.
Authorities said Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, drove a vehicle into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit on Thursday and was shot and killed by security officers after the vehicle caught fire. The Department of Homeland Security said Ghazali arrived in the U.S. 15 years ago on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen and was granted citizenship in 2016.
In a separate incident at Old Dominion University, authorities identified the shooter as Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36. Officials said Jalloh, a former Virginia National Guard member, opened fire in a classroom, killing one person and wounding two others before he was killed. Authorities said he had a prior conviction for attempting to offer material support to the Islamic State.
Schmitt originally introduced the SCAM Act in January, saying at the time it was a response to allegations of fraud by Somalians in Minnesota. He said then that U.S. citizenship is a privilege and that “people who commit felony fraud, serious felonies, or join terrorist organizations … must be denaturalized.”
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
