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House Judiciary Committee approves immigration bill that expedites removal for admitted or convicted benefit fraudsters
Summary
The House Judiciary Committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R.1958 and voted to report the bill favorably. Debate focused on whether the measure removes the conviction requirement for deportation and on oversight of recent enforcement operations in Minneapolis following the death of Renee Nicole Goode.
The House Judiciary Committee voted to report H.R.1958, the "Reporting Fraudsters Act of 2025," after adopting an amendment in the nature of a substitute that lists federal fraud offenses that render an alien inadmissible or removable.
Supporters said the measure will speed removal of noncitizens who admit to or are convicted of fraud. "If you admit to or are convicted of fraudulently receiving public benefits, you are out of here on the next plane and can never return," Representative McClintock said in his opening statements, framing the bill as necessary to protect taxpayers.
Opponents warned the bill reduces due process by allowing deportation without a conviction in some circumstances. "You shouldn't be penalized without a conviction," Ranking Member Jamie Raskin said, citing long‑standing Supreme Court precedent that fraud constitutes moral turpitude when proved at conviction.
The markup included a lengthy, heated back‑and‑forth over an amendment from the committee’s Democrats that would have required a criminal conviction before deportation for green card holders. That amendment failed on a roll call.
The session also threaded discussion of recent enforcement activity in Minneapolis, where a federal immigration operation and a separate shooting that left Renee Nicole Goode dead prompted members to debate whether local prosecutors and state investigators should have full access to federal evidence. Representative Jayapal sought an amendment to delay the bill’s effective date until state and federal authorities certified cooperation on the Minneapolis investigation; committee Republicans raised a point of order that the amendment was not germane and the chair ruled it out of order, a ruling subject to a tabling motion that the committee adopted.
Clerk counts recorded by the committee show the final adoption of the amendment in the nature of a substitute and the vote to report H.R.1958 in favor. Committee staff were authorized to make technical and conforming changes before sending the bill to the House floor.
The committee left open the prospect of further oversight and investigation into how federal immigration enforcement operations were conducted in Minneapolis; several members asked for additional hearings and for Department of Homeland Security officials to testify before the committee.
