Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, announced plans on Friday to introduce legislation to strip U.S. citizenship from Americans fighting with Islamic State militants.
Mr. Cruz will file the legislation when the Senate returns to Washington on Monday.
“Americans who choose to go to Syria or Iraq to fight with vicious ISIS terrorists are party to a terrorist organization committing horrific acts of violence, including beheading innocent American journalists who they have captured,” Mr. Cruz said in a statement on Friday.
“There can be no clearer renunciation of their citizenship in the United States, and we need to do everything we can to preempt any attempt on their part to re-enter our country and carry out further attacks on American civilians,” he added.
During a speech at Americans for Prosperity’s annual Defending the American Dream summit in Dallas, Mr. Cruz said that the U.S. should not allow any American fighting with jihadist groups back into the country, but now is taking that idea a step further.
The new legislation would amend the existing conditions for stripping U.S. citizenship to include becoming a member of, fighting for, or providing material assistance to a designated foreign terrorist organization that is working to U.S. or its citizens.
SEE ALSO: Conservatives raise call to strip jihadists of U.S. citizenship, as Ted Cruz pushes exile
Mr. Cruz is a unique messenger for the issue. He was born in Canada to American parents and though he moved back to the U.S. at a young age, he held dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship — though he said he didn’t know it until it was raised in the press last year. He renounced his Canadian citizenship earlier this year.
• Kellan Howell can be reached at khowell@washingtontimes.com.
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