{"id":21715,"date":"2026-03-14T08:39:56","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T08:39:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2026\/03\/14\/what-happens-when-a-naturalized-citizen-commits-terror-in-america\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T08:39:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T08:39:56","slug":"what-happens-when-a-naturalized-citizen-commits-terror-in-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2026\/03\/14\/what-happens-when-a-naturalized-citizen-commits-terror-in-america\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happens When A Naturalized Citizen Commits Terror In America?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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On Thursday, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh \u2014 an ex-National Guard soldier previously convicted of terrorism charges \u2014 opened fire at Old Dominion University, killing a decorated service member.<\/p>\n

Jalloh, originally from Sierra Leone, is the latest naturalized American citizen to commit a violent attack in the United States. There have been at least three attacks carried out by naturalized citizens in the last two weeks, leading many to call for a change to the naturalization process that allows these attackers into the country.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a naturalized U.S. citizen commits a heinous act of terrorism, that\u2019s not a way to take away somebody\u2019s [citizenship],\u201d immigration attorney Matthew Kolken told The Daily Wire. \u201cThey\u2019ve done everything right from an immigration standpoint.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe law does not allow you to just take away someone\u2019s citizenship. They can be convicted of a crime and go to jail for the rest of their life, but they\u2019ll die a United States citizen,\u201d Kolken said.<\/p>\n

Jalloh, for instance, was sentenced to 11 years in prison with another five years of supervised release in his terrorism case and was let out early in December 2024, according to the New York Post.<\/p>\n

If the feds wanted to denaturalize Jalloh, they would\u2019ve had to have found evidence of \u201cfraud\u201d tied to his immigration case.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not talking about a crime, we\u2019re talking about an immigration law violation,\u201d Kolken said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though you want to the United States wants to denaturalize somebody because they engaged in an act of terrorism and murdered people in this country, the way that you would effectuate a denaturalization is if you discover a fraud that was not disclosed in furtherance of their immigration journey,\u201d Kolken said.<\/p>\n

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After the SAVE America Act, we must pass the SCAM Act so we can denaturalize & deport those who are here to hurt Americans.<\/p>\n

We must denaturalize those who shouldn\u2019t be here.<\/p>\n

Will is exactly right. https:\/\/t.co\/z31zdDvzMZ<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/QPN58EoJRX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Senator Eric Schmitt (@SenEricSchmitt) March 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In addition to committing immigration fraud, an individual can become denaturalized if they join the Communist Party or another \u201csubversive organization\u201d within five years of gaining citizenship, George Fishman, senior fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, said.<\/p>\n

But Fishman warned that denaturalization is \u201ctough,\u201d adding that in Jalloh\u2019s case, \u201cunless the government can come up with evidence that he lied, he concealed a material fact during his naturalization, I\u2019m not sure there\u2019s really a viable way forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naturalized citizens can also lose their citizenship if they are discharged from the military \u201cunder other than honorable conditions\u201d after obtaining citizenship based on their military service, according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. They must have been discharged before having served honorably for \u201cat least five years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The federal government naturalized 818,500 new citizens in fiscal year 2024, which ran between October 2023 and September 2024, according to federal data.<\/p>\n

With the mountain of cases, it may be difficult to go back and audit those who\u2019ve already been naturalized, Fishman said, adding that the federal government should \u201cbe much more deliberative in deciding whether to naturalize someone in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

For any future cases, Congress \u201ccould \u2026 toughen the standards for naturalization,\u201d Fishman said.<\/p>\n

Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt (R) has introduced legislation to make it easier for the United States to denaturalize immigrants who pose a national security threat.<\/p>\n

His proposed legislation, the Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation (SCAM) Act, seeks to denaturalize those who commit welfare fraud, aggravated felonies, and espionage. It also applies to individuals with ties to drug cartels or foreign terrorist groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must denaturalize those who shouldn\u2019t be here,\u201d Schmitt said on X Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n