[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7842 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7842
To amend section 5318 of title 31, United States Code, to require
financial institutions to verify the lawful immigration status of
applicants for deposit accounts through a self-attestation form, to
impose penalties on individuals for false attestations, and for other
purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 5, 2026
Mr. Ogles (for himself, Mr. Crane, and Mr. Higgins of Louisiana)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Financial Services
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A BILL
To amend section 5318 of title 31, United States Code, to require
financial institutions to verify the lawful immigration status of
applicants for deposit accounts through a self-attestation form, to
impose penalties on individuals for false attestations, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Alien Banking Act''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR IMMIGRATION STATUS VERIFICATION IN CUSTOMER
IDENTIFICATION PROGRAMS.
(a) In General.--Section 5318(l) of title 31, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) requiring any individual who is present in
the United States and seeking to open an account to
attest, under penalty of perjury, to the individual's
lawful presence in the United States, including by
checking a box or similar affirmation on the deposit
account application form indicating whether the
individual is a United States citizen, a lawful
permanent resident, or otherwise lawfully present in
the United States, as defined by the Secretary of
Homeland Security in consultation with the Secretary of
the Treasury.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Prohibition on opening accounts for unlawfully
present individuals.--A financial institution may not open or
maintain an account for any individual who fails to provide the
attestation required under paragraph (2)(D).
``(8) Penalties for individuals.--
``(A) Civil penalty.--Any individual who knowingly
makes a false attestation described in paragraph (2)(D)
is liable for a civil penalty of not less than $10,000
and not more than $50,000.
``(B) Criminal penalty.--Any individual who
knowingly makes a false attestation described in
paragraph (2)(D) shall be fined under title 18, United
States Code, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.
Notwithstanding title 18, United States Code, the fine
under this subparagraph shall not exceed $250,000.
``(C) Forfeiture of assets.--
``(i) Civil forfeiture.--In the case of an
individual knowingly making a false attestation
described in paragraph (2)(D) in connection
with an account, any property contained in the
account, regardless of when such property was
placed in the account, and any property
otherwise traceable to the account, may be
seized and forfeited to the United States in
accordance with the procedures governing civil
forfeitures in money laundering cases pursuant
to section 981(a)(1)(A) of title 18, United
States Code.
``(ii) Criminal forfeiture.--
``(I) In general.--A court, in
imposing sentence for an individual
knowingly making a false attestation
described in paragraph (2)(D) in
connection with an account, shall order
the defendant to forfeit all property
contained in the account, regardless of
when such property was placed in the
account, and any property otherwise
traceable to the account.
``(II) Procedure.--Forfeitures
under this clause shall be governed by
the procedures established in section
413 of the Controlled Substances Act.
``(9) Reporting requirement.--A financial institution that
has reason to believe an individual has made a false
attestation described in paragraph (2)(D) shall report such
belief to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney
General.''.
SEC. 3. REGULATIONS.
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of
Homeland Security and the Attorney General, shall issue regulations to
implement the amendments made by section 2 of this Act, including--
(1) model language for the attestation described in
5318(l)(2)(D) of title 31, United States Code; and
(2) guidelines for reporting suspected false attestations
under section 5318(l)(9) of such title.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The provisions added by the amendments made by this Act shall take
effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act.
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