Rep. Tom McClintock criticized a proposed amendment to immigration legislation that he said would allow illegal aliens who admit to committing fraud to remain in the United States indefinitely, arguing the change would further weaken already ineffective enforcement of immigration law.

McClintock made the remarks while addressing what he described as serious flaws in both the amendment and existing federal statutes governing deportation and inadmissibility for fraud-related offenses. He said the underlying bill includes language making fraud grounds for deportation, but that protection would be eliminated under the proposed change.

“This bill says if you admit to fraud, you're deportable,” McClintock said.

“The amendment removes this provision. The amendment says even if the alien admits to the fraud, they can remain here indefinitely. Now that's absurd.”

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McClintock argued that current law already makes it difficult to remove illegal aliens who commit serious crimes, even when guilt is established through the courts.

He said the amendment would further erode enforcement by explicitly allowing individuals who admit to fraud to stay in the country.

“The current law is so ambiguous that even conviction is not sufficient for deportation or inadmissibility,” McClintock said.

He cited several cases to illustrate how existing statutes have failed to result in timely removals, even in situations involving serious criminal conduct and substantial financial losses to taxpayers.

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“I cited a number of cases in my opening,” McClintock said.

“In one case where an individual who committed an aggravated felony was allowed to stay in this country despite a conviction in a $169,000 food stamp scheme.”

McClintock also referenced a prolonged legal case involving a foreign national whose removal proceedings stretched on for years, despite a criminal conviction.

“In another case in England, was placed in removal proceedings in 2005,” he said.

“He remained there until 2013 when his case finally made its way to the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to determine whether his conviction for conspiracy to traffic and identification documents made him removable from the United States.”

According to McClintock, even admissions of large-scale fraud have not resulted in swift enforcement under current law, showcasing what he described as systemic weaknesses in the immigration system.

“Another fraudster spent two years challenging his removal proceedings, even though he had admitted that he had received up to three and a half million dollars through food stamp fraud,” he said.

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