
Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, left, dismissed the bill as unnecessary, while Rep. Cory Mills of Florida was among those who supported it. (Heather Diehl / Getty Images; Kent Nishimura / Getty Images)
By Bryan Chai March 18, 2026 at 5:48pm
Despite heavy opposition from Democrats, the Deporting Fraudsters Act of 2026 narrowly passed the House of Representatives Wednesday.
The bill, sponsored by Ohio GOP Rep. Dave Taylor, passed 231-186, with all 186 nays coming from the Democratic Party, according to Fox News.
The purpose of the bill is to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to more stringently target fraud.
Effectively, the bill would amend that act to specifically define fraud as a deportable offense.
While Republicans painted the Deporting Fraudsters Act as a necessary bit of reform, their Democratic counterparts insisted that this potential amendment is somehow a bad thing.
“Another week, another redundant and completely unnecessary immigration crime bill,” Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin said, according to Fox News.
Raskin also complained vociferously that the Deporting Fraudsters Act would erode due process rights for illegal immigrants.
“By bypassing the conviction requirement, this legislation would hand a liberal get-out-of-jail free card to immigrants who commit fraud by deporting them without going through the criminal justice system and giving their victims a day in court,” he said.
(Republicans have denied this claim.)
Raskin and his fellow Democrats are also complaining that illegal immigrants convicted of fraud are already eligible for deportation.
The GOP, on the other hand, seemed rather enthused by these developments.
Every dollar stolen by a foreign fraudster is a dollar stolen from American families.@HouseGOP just passed the Deporting Fraudsters Act to remove criminal aliens who commit fraud against taxpayers.
— Rep. Tim Walberg (@RepWalberg) March 18, 2026
American taxpayers are NOT an ATM for criminal aliens. Period.
Tonight I voted for @RepDaveTaylor’s Deporting Fraudsters Act to send those who come to our country and steal from hardworking American families PACKING! pic.twitter.com/OCtPiq45ur
— Chairwoman Lisa McClain (@RepLisaMcClain) March 18, 2026
Fraud against taxpayers isn’t victimless, it takes resources from families right here in Florida’s 7th District.
I voted YES on the Deporting Fraudsters Act (H.R. 1958) to protect our community and hold bad actors accountable.
✔️ Makes benefits fraud a deportable offense
✔️…— Rep. Cory Mills 🇺🇸 (@RepMillsPress) March 18, 2026
But few were as excited as Taylor.
“It’s a no-brainer — if an illegal alien defrauds the United States or steals benefits from our nation’s most vulnerable, they should be permanently removed from our country,” Taylor said in a news release.
He added, “Ohioans work too hard to have their tax dollars and benefits stolen by illegal aliens who shouldn’t even be here in the first place. My Deporting Fraudsters Act will bolster the Trump Administration’s efforts to do just that, and today I’m proud to see it take one step closer toward becoming law.”
That all being said, Fox News noted that the bill is likely “dead on arrival” once it reaches the Senate, as there don’t appear to be many viable paths for the bill to reach the 60-vote threshold.
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