U.S. Rep. Steve Israel (D-Dix Hills) has co-sponsored legislation that would revoke citizenship for Americans who fight for a foreign terrorist organization.
The law, called the Terrorist Denaturalization and Passport Revocation Act, has been introduced as an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act, adding allegiance to terrorist organizations to a list of actions for which naturalized Americans may lose citizenship.
“Any American who decides to actively join a terrorist organization should no longer get to enjoy the freedoms and privileges afforded to them as a U.S. citizen,” said Israel, who co-sponsored the legislation with Rep. Steve Womack (R-Arkansas), in a statement. “This bipartisan legislation strengthens our homeland security and keeps our country safe by preventing home-grown terrorists from re-entering our borders to carry out attacks on American soil.”
Womack introduced the legislation on Jan. 6. It was then referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The addition would give the secretary of state the ability to revoke passports issued to citizens fighting alongside terrorist outlets, officials said, and prevent such people from coming back to the United States.
Israel’s support for the legislation comes days after a former Air Force veteran was arrested while attempting to enter Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – also known as ISIS.
On March 13, three Brooklyn men were arrested for allegedly conspiring with ISIS. A man was caught trying to help two others travel to Syria to join the militant group.
Israel’s office said there have 74 terrorist plots or attacks in the United States since 2001.
