Trump Vows To Revoke Citizenship Of Naturalized Immigrants Convicted Of Fraud
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration will move to revoke the citizenship of naturalized immigrants who are convicted of defrauding American citizens, signaling an expansion of federal denaturalization efforts.
“We’re also going to revoke the citizenship of any naturalized immigrant from Somalia or anywhere else who is convicted of defrauding our citizens,” Trump said during remarks at the Detroit Economic Club.
The statement comes as the Department of Justice announced the creation of a new section dedicated to investigating, prosecuting, and pursuing denaturalization cases. The move follows the formation of an earlier denaturalization task force in 2018 during Trump’s first term.
According to the DOJ, the new section will prioritize individuals who “illegally procured” citizenship or concealed “a material fact” during the naturalization process. Officials said the office would focus on serious violations of law, including cases involving terrorism, war crimes, sex offenses, and significant financial fraud.
Denaturalization — the legal process of revoking citizenship — is permitted under U.S. law if citizenship was unlawfully obtained through fraud or material misrepresentation.
The Supreme Court has held that citizenship cannot be stripped unless it was illegally procured, establishing a high evidentiary standard requiring “clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence.”
Historically, denaturalization has been rare.
For decades after a 1967 Supreme Court decision limited the practice to cases involving fraud or error in the naturalization process, the federal government typically filed only about a dozen denaturalization cases per year.
In 2008, the Obama administration launched “Operation Janus,” a program that used digitized fingerprint records to identify individuals who had been ordered deported under one identity but later naturalized under another.
The Trump administration expanded those efforts, reviewing more than 700,000 naturalization files and increasing the number of cases filed in federal court.
In 2017, the Justice Department filed 25 denaturalization cases, followed by another 20 during the first half of 2018 — a marked increase from prior decades.
In January 2018, DOJ officials said they expected to pursue roughly 1,600 denaturalization cases and planned to hire additional attorneys and immigration officers to support the initiative.
The newly announced section formalizes and potentially expands that approach. A recent DOJ memo instructs the Civil Division to “advance the administration’s policy objectives,” including “prioritizing denaturalization.”
The memo outlines 10 categories of priority cases, including individuals who pose “a potential danger to national security,” engaged in “various forms of financial fraud,” or whose cases are otherwise deemed “sufficiently important to pursue.”
Legal scholars note that the definition of fraud in the naturalization context has traditionally focused on whether an applicant willfully misrepresented or concealed facts that would have affected the outcome of the citizenship application.
Questions have arisen about how broadly newer interpretations might extend, particularly if post-naturalization criminal conduct unrelated to immigration history becomes a basis for review.
The administration has also emphasized financial fraud as a priority area. The DOJ memo specifically references Medicaid and Medicare fraud, as well as loan fraud. While serious financial crimes can result in criminal prosecution, legal experts debate whether such offenses — if not tied to misrepresentations made during the naturalization process — meet the constitutional standard required to revoke citizenship.
Trump has publicly reinforced his support for aggressive enforcement. In a recent Truth Social post, he pledged to “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility.”
The broader historical context adds weight to the debate. In the early 20th century, denaturalization was sometimes used against political dissidents under provisions requiring “good moral character” and attachment to constitutional principles.
That era ended after Supreme Court rulings in the 1940s and 1960s curtailed the practice, establishing strict constitutional protections for naturalized citizens.
The Justice Department’s new office is expected to begin reviewing cases immediately. Any denaturalization action must proceed through federal court, where judges will evaluate whether the government has met the constitutional standard.
