The Trump administration is drastically ramping up its denaturalization efforts aimed at revoking the citizenship of naturalized Americans accused of defrauding the immigration system.
The administration reportedly plans to file at least 250 such cases by October and has already pursued 29 in less than two months. The objective is to root out foreigners who obtained their citizenship by lying on their applications or concealing serious crimes they committed in the past.
In a June 2025 memo, Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate instructed the Civil Division to make denaturalization one of its top priorities. The White House has shuffled litigators from other divisions to aid in the effort. Officials say the initiative is part of an overall effort to protect the integrity of U.S. citizenship by ensuring only the most deserving obtain it.
🚨 JUST IN: The Trump DOJ is SURGING denaturalizations by **2,400%** to historic levels, expected to file HUNDREDS of cases by October
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 19, 2026
LFG! I VOTED FOR THIS 🔥
"A senior officials telling CNN that the Justice Department plans to file at least 250 denaturalization cases by… pic.twitter.com/6cgYQZrVEs
A senior Justice Department official told CNN that denaturalization “is a lawful tool that Congress has had on the books for decades.” He further stated that the government is focusing on serious crimes rather than minor issues.
The Justice Department earlier this month announced it had filed denaturalization complaints against 17 people in federal courts across the country. The suspects include individuals accused of health care fraud, sexual abuse of a minor, drug trafficking, wire and bank fraud, and other serious offenses.
🚨JUST IN: The Trump DOJ is SURGING denaturalizations by **2,400%** to historic levels, expected to file HUNDREDS of cases by October
— Mayra Flores (@Mayra_FloresTx) June 19, 2026
"A senior officials telling CNN that the Justice Department plans to file at least 250 denaturalization cases by October." pic.twitter.com/GgudzQrFb3
The agency alleges that these people concealed their criminal past when applying for naturalization. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a Justice Department press release, "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.”
One such case involves a Haitian native who sexually abused his minor daughter before becoming naturalized. The behavior continued throughout the process and he was later convicted of the crimes. Another involved a Cuban woman convicted in a widespread health care fraud scheme in which participants scammed tens of millions of dollars in false billing.
Historically, denaturalization has been a rarely used practice. CNN noted that between 2008 and 2026, the Justice Department filed only 166 denaturalization complaints for an annual average of fewer than 10 cases. This seems to be the average from 1990 to 2017.