The Justice Department plans an aggressive denaturalization push, filing at least 250 cases by October to revoke U.S. citizenship from naturalized citizens accused of fraud or serious crimes, a senior DOJ official said. The department has already filed 29 cases this year and is reassigning civil litigators nationwide to meet the target, a major uptick from the annual average of fewer than 10 filings since 2008.
Officials say the effort targets people who lied or concealed criminal activity during naturalization, including allegations of fraud, sexual abuse of minors, or support for terrorism. Successful cases would strip individuals of citizenship and return them to their prior immigration status, potentially leading to deportation. Critics warn the workload and legal complexity of denaturalization litigation make large-scale revocations difficult, and they call for careful prioritization and robust evidence standards to protect due process.
The initiative reflects the Trump administration’s broader hardline immigration agenda and follows a June 2025 DOJ memo prioritizing cases involving national‑security risks, war crimes, fraud and undisclosed felonies. DOJ officials say denaturalization is a lawful tool to protect the integrity of citizenship, while legal experts note past administrations focused denaturalization on clear egregious cases a narrower approach than the newly broadened effort.
