The Donald Trump administration is intensifying its efforts to revoke citizenship from individuals who obtained it through fraudulent means, with 384 foreign-born Americans identified for denaturalization, according to a report by The New York Times. This initiative is part of a broader push to accelerate the denaturalization process by assigning cases to prosecutors across U.S. attorney's offices.
Expansion of Denaturalization Efforts
The New York Times report revealed that senior Justice Department officials informed colleagues during a meeting last week that civil litigators in 39 regional offices would soon be tasked with filing denaturalization cases against these individuals. Two sources familiar with the plans confirmed the broader effort to ramp up denaturalizations, though the initiative is not yet official. The identities of the 384 individuals and the criteria used to select them remain undisclosed.
Matthew Tragesser, a Justice Department spokesman, told The New York Times that officials are "pursuing the highest volume of denaturalization referrals in history" from the Department of Homeland Security. He added, "The Department of Justice is laser focused on rooting out criminal aliens defrauding the naturalization process."
Understanding Denaturalization
Denaturalization is the legal process of stripping citizenship from individuals who previously became citizens through naturalization. It applies only to foreign-born individuals who have been naturalized, not to those who are U.S. citizens by birth. Under federal law, the government can seek a court order to revoke citizenship if it was obtained fraudulently, such as through a sham marriage or by concealing information that would have made the individual ineligible. Some individuals who commit crimes may also face denaturalization.
The process requires the government to present evidence to a federal judge in a civil or criminal proceeding, making it challenging, time-consuming, and historically rare.
Historical Context and New Targets
In 2025, it was reported that the administration asked U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to refer 100 to 200 denaturalization cases per month to the Justice Department in fiscal 2026. During that same year, the Justice Department pursued 13 denaturalization cases and won eight. In Trump's first term, the government filed approximately 100 cases over four years, while only 24 such cases were filed under the Biden administration. The new targets far exceed any past precedents, signaling a significant escalation in enforcement.
