HB707, titled the “Deport Illegal Voters Act of 2025,” would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to treat unlawful voting as an aggravated felony. The bill adds voting in violation of any federal, state, or local constitutional provision, statute, ordinance, or regulation to the INA’s list of aggravated felonies, which is one of the most serious immigration-related criminal classifications.
The bill also makes a conforming change to the INA’s inadmissibility provisions so that any noncitizen who has voted unlawfully would be inadmissible to the United States. In addition, it strikes an existing deportability paragraph, while the overall effect of the measure is to expand immigration consequences for unlawful voting and to strengthen removal and exclusion grounds tied to voting violations.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would broaden federal immigration law by adding unlawful voting to the statutory definition of aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43). That change would expose affected noncitizens to severe immigration penalties, including inadmissibility and likely removal consequences, and would make voting violations a far more serious immigration trigger than under current law. It would also affect how immigration authorities, courts, and potentially state and local election violations interact with federal immigration enforcement.
Sentiment
There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history in the provided materials, so no formal debate or roll-call sentiment is available. Based on the bill text and title, the measure appears to be framed as an election-integrity and immigration-enforcement bill, suggesting support from lawmakers concerned about unlawful voting and opposition from those wary of expanding immigration penalties for election-related conduct. The bill was introduced and referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Contention
The main point of contention is likely the breadth of the bill’s trigger: it covers voting in violation of any federal, state, or local constitutional provision, statute, ordinance, or regulation, which could sweep in a wide range of conduct and legal scenarios. Critics may argue that making unlawful voting an aggravated felony is an especially harsh immigration consequence and could raise concerns about proportionality, due process, and overlap with state election-law enforcement. Supporters are likely to emphasize deterrence, election integrity, and the need for stronger penalties for noncitizens who vote unlawfully.