PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 3, 2025
Consequences for Social Security Fraud Act
This bill adds additional criminal offences to the grounds upon which a non-U.S. national (alien under federal law) may be barred from admission into the United States or deported. Specifically, an individual who has been convicted of, or admits to committing, Social Security fraud, identification document fraud, or fraud related to COVID-19 financial assistance programs is inadmissible or deportable under the bill.
People & committees
Rep. McClintock, Tom [R-CA-5] · R–CA
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Feb 25, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-01-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The bill would add grounds for denying noncitizens admission to the United States and making them subject to deportation for specified Social Security, identification-document, and COVID-relief fraud offenses, including conspiracies. These consequences could follow a conviction or certain admissions of wrongdoing; the proposal would not require a conviction in every case.
Any alien who has been convicted of, who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of a covered COVID offense, an offense under section 208 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408) (relating to social security account numbers or social security cards), an offense under section 1028 of title 18, United States Code (relating to fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information), or a conspiracy to commit such an offense, is inadmissible.
Any alien who has been convicted of, who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of a covered COVID offense (as such term is defined in section 212(a)(2)(J)(ii)), an offense under section 208 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408) (relating to social security account numbers or social security cards), an offense under section 1028 of title 18, United States Code (relating to fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information), or a conspiracy to commit such an offense, is deportable.
Section 1 would name the legislation the “Consequences for Social Security Fraud Act.”
This Act may be cited as the Consequences for Social Security Fraud Act.
Section 2(a) would add a ground of inadmissibility—an immigration barrier to admission—to the Immigration and Nationality Act. It would cover convictions, admissions of committing a listed offense, and admissions of acts constituting its essential elements, meaning the facts required to establish that offense.
(a) Inadmissibility Section 212(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Any alien who has been convicted of, who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of a covered COVID offense, an offense under section 208 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408) (relating to social security account numbers or social security cards), an offense under section 1028 of title 18, United States Code (relating to fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information), or a conspiracy to commit such an offense, is inadmissible.
Section 2(b) would add a corresponding ground for deportation under the Immigration and Nationality Act. It would use the same conviction-or-admission triggers and cover the same offenses and conspiracies.
(b) Deportability Section 237(a)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Any alien who has been convicted of, who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of a covered COVID offense (as such term is defined in section 212(a)(2)(J)(ii)), an offense under section 208 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408) (relating to social security account numbers or social security cards), an offense under section 1028 of title 18, United States Code (relating to fraud and related activity in connection with identification documents, authentication features, and information), or a conspiracy to commit such an offense, is deportable.
The covered COVID offenses would include fraud involving loans under paragraphs (36) or (37) of Small Business Act section 7(a), and loans under section 7(b) made in response to the COVID–19 pandemic. The definition identifies particular loan provisions rather than covering every pandemic-related loan.
the term covered COVID offense means an offense of fraud pertaining to— (I) a loan made under— (aa) paragraph (36) or (37) of subsection (a) of section 7 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636); or (bb) subsection (b) of such section in response to the COVID–19 pandemic;
The covered COVID offenses would also include fraud involving grants under section 5003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 or section 324 of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act.
the term covered COVID offense means an offense of fraud pertaining to—
(II) a grant made under— (aa) section 5003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (15 U.S.C. 9009c); or (bb) section 324 of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act (15 U.S.C. 9009a).
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated February 25, 2025, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on the Judiciary on January 3, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2025-02-25T16:48:25Z. 2025-01-03: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. 2025-01-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-01-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish what other versions or accompanying materials contain.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; earmark disclosures and accompanying committee materials were not supplied.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow benefit, special exemption, or preferential treatment was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Feb 25, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI