As the Trump administration investigates rampant welfare fraud in Democrat states, Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) wants to toughen the penalties for foreign fraudsters.
Cotton introduced a bill on Thursday that would set mandatory minimums for non-citizens convicted of fraud and allow for automatic deportation for those convicted of fraud. The Trump administration has launched major fraud investigations into states like California and Minnesota, where dozens of Somali migrants have been charged with crimes.
“Migrants who steal Arkansas taxpayer dollars by committing fraud shouldn’t be let off with just a slap on the wrist,” Cotton told The Daily Wire. “My bill will ensure these criminals face harsher consequences.”
Cotton’s “Welfare Fraud Deterrence and Recovery Act” would impose a two-year minimum prison sentence for non-citizens or naturalized citizens convicted of stealing federal welfare funds. If the person stole more than $100,000 worth of funds, the sentence would be no less than five years, according to a copy of the proposal shared with The Daily Wire.
Defrauding federal welfare programs would also come with immigration consequences. Foreigners who were denaturalized would be barred from reentry into the United States and foreigners convicted of fraud would be subject to expedited deportation. Cotton’s bill would also make it easier to denaturalize someone convicted of fraud.
Under the bill, a Fraud Recovery Task Force would be established by the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate and prosecute fraud cases.
Cotton’s proposal comes after the Trump administration froze funding for programs that provide childcare and food assistance in California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York as officials probe whether the benefits are being illegally funneled to non-citizens. The specific programs being halted in those states are the Child Care Development Fund, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and the Social Services Block Grant program.
Last week, Vice President JD Vance announced that a new assistant attorney general position out of the Justice Department would be formed to focus on fraud in Minnesota.
“To make sure that we prosecute the bad guys and do it as swiftly and efficiently as possible … we are creating a new assistant attorney general position who will have nationwide jurisdiction over the issue of fraud,” Vance said at a press briefing. “Now, of course, that person’s efforts will start and focus primarily in Minnesota, but it is going to be a nationwide effort, because unfortunately, the American people have been defrauded in a very nationwide way.”
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