Seventeen naturalized U.S. citizens could lose their citizenship after the Department of Justice announced new actions on Monday to revoke that status. The move is part of the denaturalization campaign pursued by President Donald Trump’s administration against people whom the Republican government says obtained citizenship through fraud or deception during the naturalization process.
According to the Department of Justice, the cases involve alleged irregularities during the naturalization process, including fraud, the use of false identities, and the alleged concealment of information that could have affected some individuals’ eligibility for citizenship. Denaturalization —the process of revoking citizenship from a naturalized U.S. citizen— is a rare legal tool in the United States and can only take place through federal courts. However, since Trump returned to the White House, the administration has increased its use of this mechanism as part of a broader immigration enforcement strategy.
The agency said that the new cases were filed in federal courts across the country. They include a person convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, another convicted of attempted sexual battery upon a child, and an individual accused of conspiracy to distribute prescription drugs without a license. The cases also include a former Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing a minor and a man accused of filing fraudulent H-1B visa petitions. In another case, authorities allege that a woman obtained U.S. citizenship using a new identity after she had previously been denied an immigration benefit.
The Trump administration has defended these actions by arguing that U.S. citizenship must be obtained and maintained in accordance with the law. “Gaining U.S. citizenship is a privilege, and under the steadfast leadership of President Trump, this Department of Justice maintains a zero-tolerance policy for the abuse of this process,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin expressed a similar position, saying that U.S. citizenship must be earned “honestly.” He added that the administration “will continue to use every lawful avenue to denaturalize and remove aliens.”
The latest round of cases comes just weeks after the Justice Department announced similar actions against 12 other individuals. The increase in such proceedings marks a shift from previous years. According to a Justice Department official cited by CNN, the Biden administration filed 24 denaturalization cases during its time in office.
The current administration has already surpassed that figure in less than a year. According to The New York Times, Department of Homeland Security officials were instructed late last year to refer more than 200 potential denaturalization cases each month. Although the federal government has used this tool at various points in history, it has generally remained an exceptional measure because of the legal hurdles involved in revoking the citizenship of a naturalized American.
Historically, U.S. citizenship has been revoked for reasons ranging from false information about a person’s date of arrival, age, or marital status to political considerations. During World War II, for example, the government reviewed the naturalization cases of German Americans who were considered sympathetic to Nazi ideology.
Denaturalization proceedings remain relatively uncommon because the government must meet a high burden of proof in court. Unlike many other immigration procedures, an administrative decision alone is not enough. A federal judge must determine whether citizenship was obtained through fraud or through the deliberate concealment of material information during the naturalization process.
