The Department of Justice announced it has filed denaturalization actions in federal district courts across the country seeking to strip citizenship from 17 foreign-born Americans accused of serious crimes. Officials described the effort as the largest denaturalization action in recent memory, marking an expansion of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies.
Denaturalization is the legal process through which the government revokes previously granted citizenship. The practice typically targets individuals accused of obtaining citizenship fraudulently or through concealing disqualifying criminal conduct. Federal prosecutors filed cases in various U.S. District Courts, though specific allegations against the individuals were not detailed.
The announcement comes as part of a broader push to denaturalize naturalized citizens. According to reporting, the Justice Department has identified 384 foreign-born U.S. citizens whose citizenship it wants to revoke and will begin the process in coming weeks. A top Justice Department official, Francey Hakes, described the 384 people as representing "the first wave of cases" the administration intends to pursue, characterizing it as a "White House initiative." A White House spokesperson disputed this characterization, stating it "isn't a White House initiative, it's federal law."
The move represents a significant escalation in using denaturalization, a rarely employed legal tool. While the government has long possessed authority to revoke citizenship in cases involving fraud or misrepresentation, critics argue that aggressive denaturalization campaigns can create uncertainty for naturalized citizens and undermine citizenship permanence.
Between 2017 and late 2025, the U.S. stripped just over 120 naturalized citizens of their citizenship, according to reports. The 384 people now targeted represents a dramatic increase in such actions.
During a recent meeting, senior Justice Department officials told colleagues that civil litigators in 39 regional offices would be assigned to file cases. Due to the high cost and manpower required, the U.S. government has historically pursued denaturalization rarely. The scale of this initiative may divert resources from other department offices, including those pursuing healthcare and other types of fraud cases.
Recent cases filed include actions against a marine accused of a sex crime, an Argentinian man accused of falsely claiming another nationality, and a Nigerian man convicted of tax fraud.
When a person is denaturalized, they return to the status they held before becoming a citizen. Immigration is considered a civil matter, meaning immigrants do not have the right to an attorney in such cases. The government must prove that a person is not of "good moral character" before a judge to justify denaturalization.
The denaturalization process requires judges to determine whether citizenship was improperly obtained. Those facing proceedings have the right to legal representation and can contest the government's claims.