Rep. Dave Taylor’s Deporting Fraudsters Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives
Legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. Dave Taylor, R-Ohio, that would make fraud involving federally funded programs grounds for deportation was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
The Deporting Fraudsters Act would add more specific definitions to current laws about deportable crimes, as both the White House and state officials address reports of fraud involving taxpayer dollars.
In addition to making fraud involving SNAP, Social Security, other federally funded programs, or fraudulent identification documents grounds for deportation, the Act would also bar foreign nationals who commit fraud from entering the U.S. and make those who commit fraud ineligible for immigration enforcement relief.
Taylor said that the legislation would safeguard taxpayer funds after the Act was passed on March 18.
“The last Administration’s open border policies put our communities at risk and made every state a border state,” Taylor said in a release.
“Under President Trump, Republicans are bringing back common sense. If an illegal alien defrauds the United States or steals benefits from our country’s most vulnerable, it should be a no-brainer that they be permanently removed from the United States,” Taylor added. “Law-abiding, hard-working Ohioans should not have their tax dollars stolen by illegal aliens who then walk free in our Nation, and I’m proud to champion this bill in the House as Senator Cruz leads the charge in the Senate.”
Taylor said that the current version of the Immigration and Nationality Act has loopholes that his legislation would address. The Act is now being considered by the Senate, where it is sponsored by Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Taylor also said that an estimated 59% of households headed by illegal aliens receive benefits from one or more taxpayer-funded programs.
President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to establish a task force headed by Vice President JD Vance to combat fraud in federal benefits programs.
Programs that have been fraudulently exploited include Medicaid, food stamps, and federal childcare funding, according to a White House fact sheet about the task force.
The White House said that examples of federal benefits fraud include the hundreds of millions in Federal childcare funding stolen by an organized ring in Minnesota involving Somali nationals and the Feeding Our Future scam, also based in Minnesota, that stole nearly $250 million in federal funds intended for needy children.
Ohio.news previously reported that the Ohio Department of Children and Youth identified at least $20 million in fraud during the first few hours of conducting “program integrity reviews” of the state’s publicly funded childcare programs in January.
State Reps. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton, and Thomas Young, R-Washington Twp., introduced legislation that would make it easier to pursue fraud by childcare providers who receive taxpayer money in January, and U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, introduced the Stopping Transfer of Public Funds Abroad Act in February.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost committed to stopping Medicaid fraud following reports that more than a dozen providers in the state had been accused of fraud in December, 2025.
