Justice Department Seeks to Strip Citizenship from 17 People in Unprecedented Denaturalization Push

The Justice Department said on Monday that it will seek to revoke the citizenship of 17 people across the United States, expanding the Trump administration’s effort to target naturalized citizens it says obtained U.S. citizenship through fraud. The move is part of a broader denaturalization campaign that has intensified since President Donald Trump returned to office, with federal officials increasingly pursuing cases against foreign-born Americans accused of misrepresenting facts during the naturalization process.

Denaturalization is the legal process of stripping a naturalized U.S. citizen of citizenship, and it can only be carried out through federal court. It is rare, but the government has used it in the past for a variety of reasons, including false claims about arrival dates, age, marital status, and, at different points in history, political affiliation. During World War II, for example, the United States reviewed naturalization cases involving German Americans suspected of pro-Nazi sympathies.

Officials said some of the individuals in the latest case are accused of fraud and sexual abuse of a minor, though the Justice Department did not publicly detail all of the allegations in the announcement. The action reflects a sharp increase in denaturalization cases under the Trump administration. According to a Justice Department official, the Biden administration filed 24 denaturalization cases during its term, while the Trump administration has already surpassed that pace within the past year.

The latest announcement follows another move in May, when the administration sought to denaturalize 12 people. The repeated filings suggest that denaturalization has become a more aggressive enforcement tool under the current administration, with officials signaling that they intend to expand its use.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that obtaining U.S. citizenship is a privilege and that the Justice Department maintains a “zero-tolerance policy” for abusing the naturalization system under President Trump’s leadership. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin also said the administration would continue to use “every lawful avenue” to denaturalize and remove noncitizens.

The push has drawn attention because of its scope and because naturalized citizenship has long been treated as stable once granted. Supporters of the policy argue that citizenship obtained through fraud should not stand, while critics warn that aggressive denaturalization efforts could create fear among immigrant communities and raise concerns about due process.

The Justice Department’s latest action underscores how immigration enforcement and citizenship review have become central parts of the administration’s broader agenda. With 17 new cases now moving forward, the government is signaling that it intends to keep using denaturalization as a tool against those it says violated the terms of becoming American citizens.