The Trump administration has directed the Justice Department to pursue hundreds of denaturalization cases against naturalized U.S. citizens, marking what officials describe as the largest such effort in American history. The Justice Department has already identified 384 foreign-born citizens whose citizenship it seeks to revoke, with the process expected to begin in the coming weeks.
Denaturalization allows the U.S. government to ask courts to remove citizenship from people who obtained it illegally. Cases typically involve applicants who lied to officials, entered false marriages, or committed crimes after becoming citizens. The process is ordinarily rare because it requires significant resources and funding.
According to reporting, the 384 identified individuals represent only the beginning of the administration's plans. Francey Hakes, a top Justice Department official, described this group as "the first wave of cases," characterizing the push as a "White House initiative." A White House spokesperson countered that the effort "isn't a White House initiative—it's federal law."
To handle the caseload, civil litigators across 39 regional Justice Department offices will be assigned to file denaturalization cases. Officials acknowledged that the scope may require additional staffing from other division offices. Legal experts have warned this could divert resources from other Justice Department priorities, including healthcare fraud cases.
The Justice Department must prove that a person lacks "good moral character" before a judge to justify denaturalization. Last year's Justice Department memo outlined broad categories of targets, including people with alleged ties to terrorism, gang members, and cartel members. Legal experts expressed concern that these criteria could be overly broad, noting the Trump administration's history of falsely accusing immigrants of gang affiliation and targeting political activists based on insufficient evidence.
Recent denaturalization filings have targeted immigrants with varied circumstances, including a Marine accused of a sex crime, an Argentine man accused of falsely claiming another nationality, and a Nigerian man convicted of tax fraud.
Denaturalization has a complex history in the United States. Throughout the 20th century, journalists, activists, and labor leaders were often targeted as alleged anarchists and communists. Politically motivated denaturalization declined after the late 1960s, when the Supreme Court ruled that denaturalization could only proceed upon proof of fraud or willful misrepresentation. The practice then narrowed, focusing primarily on former war criminals, including Nazis who misrepresented themselves on citizenship applications.
Denaturalization cases increased under the Obama administration and accelerated significantly during the first Trump administration, which attempted to examine 700,000 files. Between 2017 and late 2025, the U.S. stripped just over 120 naturalized citizens of their citizenship.
When denaturalization occurs, individuals revert to their previous immigration status. Because immigration matters are classified as civil rather than criminal proceedings, immigrants facing denaturalization have no right to legal representation.