The Trump administration has identified 384 foreign-born Americans for potential denaturalization, assigning the cases to regular prosecutors to expedite the process. This move marks a significant shift from the traditional, much slower process of handling such cases through the immigration litigation office at the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Under federal law, citizenship can only be stripped if it was obtained fraudulently or through serious misconduct, and the government must prove its case in court. Officials state that the initiative aims to root out individuals who lied or concealed disqualifying information during naturalization.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has increased referrals and the Department of Justice (DOJ) is processing denaturalization cases at the highest volume in history. Traditionally, such cases were handled by specialized immigration litigators, but expanding responsibility to regular prosecutors could significantly increase the number of cases processed.
A White House spokesman, Abigail Jackson, stated: “Citizenship fraud is a serious crime; anyone who has broken the law and obtained citizenship through fraud and deceit will be held accountable.”
This initiative could lead to a significant increase in denaturalizations, potentially stripping citizenship from many who acquired it through fraudulent means. The move is part of President Donald J. Trump’s promises to crack down on both illegal immigration and immigration fraud.
Notably, Vice President J.D. Vance said in March that the administration believes Somalia-born Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) “definitely committed immigration fraud” and that an investigation into possible remedies is underway.
