Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., on Newsmax on Tuesday called for denaturalization, prosecution, and deportation while discussing government fraud, arguing that people in the country illegally who commit crimes should be imprisoned and removed from the United States.
Ogles' comments on "Rob Schmitt Tonight" focused on immigration enforcement and what he described as widespread theft of taxpayer money, saying the Justice Department should be better equipped and funded to pursue fraud cases.
"We have to have the DOJ equipped and fund the DOJ to go after these criminals, because you're talking about hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions of dollars, being stolen from the American taxpayer," he said.
Ogles also pointed to his broader immigration agenda, saying he backs legislation to curb family-based immigration and arguing the government should take a more aggressive approach toward those who entered the country illegally.
"You've got to denaturalize, you've got to deport. You've got to deport, deport, deport," Ogles said.
"That's why I have the Assimilation Act, which brings an end to chain migration," he said. "So instead of having, you know, 700,000 people a year claiming that they're a relative of someone who is here, we cut that out and only immediate family" are allowed in the U.S.
"So maybe 50,000 would get in, and even then, they would have to justify why they're here," he added. "And if you commit a crime, we're going to put you in prison, and we're going to deport you.
"I don't know why it has to be any more complicated than that."
Recent federal cases in California underscore the kind of fraud Ogles referenced.
On March 10, the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego said more than 50 defendants had been charged in a yearslong crackdown on theft rings accused of stealing public assistance benefits from low-income families, adding that more than $310 million was stolen from California EBT beneficiaries between June 2022 and January 2026.
In Los Angeles, federal prosecutors said on Jan. 23 that the executive director of a South Los Angeles charity was arrested on a wire fraud complaint alleging he fraudulently obtained $23 million in public money intended to combat homelessness and pocketed at least $10 million.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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