Deporting Fraudsters Act of 2026

Floor Speech

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Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me.

Mr. Speaker, nothing angers a law-abiding American more than being stolen from and then watching the system let the thief go to do it over and over again.

Our immigration system only works when people who come here follow our laws and want to build the American Dream, not strip it away from the very people who make this country work.

Right now that trust is broken. These are not small scams. They are organized, deliberate fraud schemes that target the most vulnerable among us: a single mother relying on food assistance or an elderly couple who spent a lifetime paying into Social Security, or a child whose identity is stolen before they can even speak.

Here is the part that makes no sense. Under current law, defrauding the U.S. or stealing taxpayer dollars is not explicitly a deportable offense. That loophole has allowed criminal fraud networks to operate for decades.

We have seen the consequences. In Minnesota, Somali fraud networks stole millions, and Federal prosecutors now estimate Medicaid fraud in that State alone could hit $9 billion. Even in my own home State of Arizona, fraud exceeds billions of dollars.

However, Minnesota isn't the outlier. It is the warning sign. A GAO report found nearly 3 million Social Security numbers with evidence of misuse. A Cuban national defrauded Medicare of more than $3 million through a fake medical equipment scheme. A 3-year-old child had her Social Security number used to take out credit cards and auto loans. These are not isolated cases.

Fraudsters can exploit SNAP, Social Security, Medicare, and other programs because the law does not clearly state that these crimes make an alien removable from the U.S. Litigation delays and loopholes let these offenders stay here and continue to harm Americans while their victims struggle to recover.

The Deporting Fraudsters Act of 2026 closes that gap, and it does it with simple, commonsense steps. It makes clear that any alien who defrauds the U.S. or steals government funds intended for American citizens is inadmissible and deportable. It ensures that an alien's own admission to committing fraud can trigger consequences because courts in multiple circuits have ruled that certain Social Security fraud offenses do not automatically carry immigration penalties. It bars these offenders from receiving immigration benefits, including asylum, so they cannot exploit our generosity twice.

This is not complicated. If a person comes to this country to build a life, then follow our laws and contribute. We will welcome that person. If a person comes here to steal from American taxpayers, that person doesn't get to stay.

Becoming an American is a privilege. It carries responsibilities, and when someone abuses that privilege by stealing from the very people who welcome them, then they forfeit the right to remain here.

This act is a commonsense reform that protects vulnerable Americans. I am proud and pleased to be a cosponsor of this bill.

Now I will just touch on the Biden pardons. Literally hundreds of millions of restitution dollars forgone. In fact, one individual, Paul Daugerdas, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a multibillion-dollar tax fraud scheme described by prosecutors as one of the largest criminal tax fraud cases in U.S. history.

Now, Mr. Speaker, why do I bring that up?

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Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, it is because my friend across the aisle is obsessed with this Trump derangement syndrome that we hear about so much.

What about the 1,400 people who were pardoned in the last waning hours of the Biden administration?

Many of them were fraudsters. Hundreds of millions of dollars in restitution is forgone. I didn't hear any outrage from the gentleman over that, but there should be outrage when an illegal alien is committing fraud. This bill will help make them inadmissible and deportable.

That is what this bill is about. It is not some imaginary or delusional sophist argument that we are hearing from the other side.

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Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I don't mean to respond, but I am going to have to respond here. I am going to first include in the Record: ``Biden clemency for committed fraudsters met with outrage: `Slap in the face.' '' [From FoxNews.com, Dec. 17, 2024] Biden Clemency for Convicted Fraudsters met With Outrage: `Slap in the Face' (By Breanne Deppisch, Alec Schemmel)

President Biden made history last week when he granted clemency to more than 1,500 people with a sweeping list of commutations and pardons.

However, the move was met with fierce backlash from critics pointing out various names on the clemency list included individuals who cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars through their fraudulent actions.

Among those covered in what the Biden White House is calling the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president was Rita Crundwell, a former comptroller in Dixon, Illinois. Crundwell was convicted and sentenced to nearly 20 years behind bars for using her position to steal nearly $54 million from the small town best known for the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan.

Also on the list was former New York law partner Paul M. Daugerdas, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a multibillion-dollar tax fraud scheme described by prosecutors as one of the largest criminal tax fraud cases in U.S. history, as well as Toyosi Alatishe, who abused his position as a caretaker for patients with severe mental deficiencies and physical disabilities by using their personal information to file fraudulent tax returns.

In response to Biden's decision to grant clemency to Crundwell, Republican Illinois state Sen. Andrew Chesney called the move ``nothing short of a slap in the face to the people of Dixon.''

``Her crimes did not only affect the taxpayers of Dixon, but they also had a rippling effect across the region and state, as communities became subject to stricter, more tedious regulations,'' Chesney said in a statement following the commutation of Crundwell's sentence. ``First, it was the pardoning of his son, and now Biden is apparently extending clemency to anyone with political connections, including corrupt government employees. It's sickening.''

Illinois Republican Rep. Darin LaHood echoed Chesney's remarks about the commutation being a ``slap in the face'' to those impacted by Crundwell's crime, adding that ``while many families in Dixon were living paycheck to paycheck, [Crundwell] took advantage of their trust in government and used her access to live an unearned life of luxury.''

In addition to schemes that defrauded public funds, many of the commutations Biden handed out went to white-collar criminals accused of defrauding their clients out of millions of dollars. Meanwhile, Biden also commuted the sentence of Michael Conahan, a former judge who imposed harsh sentences against juveniles in exchange for $2.8 million in illegal payments in what became known as a ``kids for cash'' scandal.

``I want to see [Conahan's] name removed because that's just . . . another slap in the face, another injustice, on top of all of the grief that everybody in this community has already endured,'' said Sandy Fonzo, whose son Edward committed suicide after being sent to a juvenile detention center for eight months after getting caught drinking underage.

The administration commuted sentences for inmates who were on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic and who ``have successfully reintegrated into their families and communities,'' according to the announcement.

This includes verification that the person's primary or a prior offense was not violent, a sex offense, or terrorism- related; ensured a low or minimum recidivism risk; and confirmed that the person was not engaged in violent or gang- related activity while incarcerated. All were on good behavior, and the decisions were not made on an individual basis.

Between 2017 and 2021, then-President Trump granted just 143 pardons and 93 sentence commutations--amounting to just 2 percent of the clemency applications that his administration received, according to available Justice Department data.

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Mr. BIGGS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, what the gentleman would have us believe is that Rita Crundwell, who stole $54 million from Dixon, Illinois, repaid that $54 million before she received her pardon. That is what we would have to believe.

We would have to believe that Paul M. Daugerdas, sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in a multibillion-dollar tax fraud scheme, one of the largest in history, had reimbursed the Federal Government for those multibillion dollars.

We would have to believe that Toyosi Alatishe, who abused his position as a caretaker for patients by filing fraudulent tax returns on behalf of these poor folks, paid everything back.

There is no indication of that from the Dixon, Illinois, folks. No indication at all.

Mr. Speaker, I think I have made my case.

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