The Trump administration's Justice Department confirmed Thursday that it has escalated efforts to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans, referring a record number of cases to federal prosecutors across the country. The move marks a sharp departure from historical practice, where denaturalization was rare and typically handled by specialized immigration attorneys, not line prosecutors.
Matthew Tragesser, the department's deputy director for communications, said in a statement: 'The Department of Justice is laser-focused on rooting out criminal aliens defrauding the naturalization process. Under the leadership of President Trump and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Department is pursuing the highest volume of denaturalization referrals in history.' He added, 'We are moving at warp speed to ensure fraudsters are held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent. Our filed referrals in one year have exceeded the total during the entire four years of the Biden administration, with many more to come.'
The confirmation follows a New York Times report that approximately 384 cases have been referred for denaturalization litigation. That figure represents a massive increase compared to historical norms. According to research cited in the report, the government brought just 305 denaturalization cases over the nearly three decades between 1990 and 2018.
Denaturalization—the process of revoking U.S. citizenship from foreign-born individuals—is typically reserved for cases involving fraud during the immigration process or conviction for certain serious crimes. The current push expands that scope, with the Justice Department assigning cases to U.S. attorney offices nationwide rather than relying solely on immigration law specialists.
In December, the Trump administration directed the Department of Homeland Security to prepare as many as 200 referrals for potential denaturalization, signaling an aggressive posture well before the latest surge. The process requires immigrants to undergo a lengthy naturalization procedure, including a civics test, before obtaining citizenship.
This development comes amid broader political battles over immigration enforcement. Meanwhile, the Justice Department has also targeted meat producers in a separate initiative tied to price pressures ahead of the midterms, highlighting the administration's multipronged legal approach.
Critics argue the denaturalization push risks targeting individuals who obtained citizenship legitimately, while supporters say it is necessary to uphold the integrity of the immigration system. The department has not released detailed criteria for the referrals, but officials emphasize a focus on fraud and criminal activity.
The uptick in denaturalization cases aligns with the administration's broader crackdown on immigration, which has also seen increased enforcement actions and policy shifts. As the Education Department's dismantling accelerates with the closure of its English learner office, the denaturalization effort underscores a coordinated government-wide push to tighten citizenship requirements.
