EL PASO, TEXAS — The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill (H.R.1958) Wednesday that, according to the Republican majority, would allow for the deportation of noncitizens “who admit to or are convicted of committing certain fraud offenses.” In fact, the bill largely duplicates immigration law in effect for decades, making someone convicted of fraud or another “crime involving moral turpitude” deportable.
But the bill omits the conviction requirement in current law, allowing the administration to deport someone who “admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements” of certain crimes. As has been widely documented, Trump administration immigration officials have coerced immigrants into accepting deportation.
Fraud involving government programs is almost exclusively perpetrated by corporations. For example, it was disclosed in 2024 that defense contractor Raytheon overcharged the Pentagon for ground-to-air missiles, and this year, Teledyne was revealed to have sold the U.S. Navy faulty parts for combat aircraft ejector seat systems.
The legislation passed Wednesday does not address corporate fraud, despite President Trump’s call for a fraud crackdown. Likewise, the Trump administration has redirected tax compliance away from affluent filers to focus on taxpayers with lower incomes. And Trump, who was convicted of fraud himself, has pardoned criminals convicted of tax fraud, bank fraud, bilking Medicaid and Medicare, and other frauds.
In response to the bill’s passage, the Protecting Immigrant Families coalition released the following statements.
“This ‘fraud’ bill is a fraud aimed at protecting the real fraudsters. It gives a Trump administration with a track record of disregard for civil rights and federal law the authority to deport people for fraud who have not been convicted. This attack on due process is a threat to us all. It’s also a political charade to blame and scapegoat immigrants, in a transparent effort to distract from the real fraud perpetrated by millionaires and corporations.” – Adriana Cadena, Executive Director, Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition
“H.R. 1958 scapegoats immigrants while harming U.S. citizen children. There are already strict verification processes in place to ensure that social services programs are only accessed by eligible individuals who qualify for them, and long-standing federal law already makes immigrants deportable or ineligible to obtain lawful status if they are convicted of certain crimes involving fraud or deceit. H.R. 1958 would weaken due process for immigrants by allowing them to be deported without being convicted of any crime. This would allow low-income families who access federal safety net programs to be unfairly targeted, and it threatens to create a chilling effect that prevents millions of eligible U.S. citizen children from accessing the healthcare, nutrition assistance, and other public benefits they qualify for. Rather than peddling false, fear-mongering narratives about immigrants, Congress should focus on ensuring that children across the country have access to the other vital supports they need to thrive.” – Trudy Taylor Smith, Senior Administrator of Policy and Advocacy, Children’s Defense Fund-Texas, a member of the PIF Steering Committee
“The administration is weaponizing claims of fraud to attack immigrant families and deny people access to basic needs. The result is unprecedented federal overreach into health care and other safety net programs. But Medicaid helps millions of families, people with disabilities, and older adults access the care they need to live and thrive. Attacks framed as fighting fraud are instead targeting the very people the program is intended to support and the small community providers who make care possible.” – Sarah Grusin, Senior Attorney, National Health Law Program, a member of the PIF Steering Committee
“To address our nation’s out-of-control affordability crisis, Congress should support people in meeting their basic needs, including food, health care, child care, and housing. Instead, certain Members of Congress are introducing legislation that uses so-called “fraud” as an excuse to withhold federal funds from states or freeze access to the critical services and supports needed by people being pushed to the margins—such as immigrants, families with young children, women, communities of color, LGBTQ folks, and workers paid low wages. This is on top of massive cuts last summer to our safety net, leaving millions of people without access to food assistance and health coverage, all to line the pockets of billionaires. Families are struggling to make ends meet, and the peddling of misinformation by policymakers will only serve to strip critical resources from our communities.” – Wendy Chun-Hoon, President and Executive Director, Center for Law and Social Policy, a member of the PIF Steering Committee
