Citizenship under review: Trump officials expand effort to denaturalize foreign-born Americans
By isabelle // 2026-02-13
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  • Trump DOJ sets aggressive monthly quotas to strip citizenship from naturalized immigrants.
  • The initiative aims for 100-200 case referrals to prosecutors each month.
  • Officials are scouring old files for discrepancies to fuel a litigation pipeline.
  • The administration calls it a zero-tolerance policy for fraud in naturalization.
  • Critics warn the quotas create fear and politicize a profound legal process.
The Trump administration is launching a sweeping effort to identify and strip U.S. citizenship from naturalized immigrants, setting aggressive monthly targets that mark a dramatic shift in enforcement. Internal guidance directs U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to refer between 100 and 200 potential denaturalization cases to the Justice Department each month. This initiative, now moving into full operation, seeks to revoke citizenship from those alleged to have obtained it through fraud or misrepresentation, fundamentally altering a process historically used with great restraint. This planned scale is staggering when compared to recent history. From 2017 through the present, the Justice Department has filed just over 120 such cases in total. To now target potentially thousands of cases annually represents an exponential increase. Administration officials have reassigned personnel and dispatched experts to field offices nationwide to scour past naturalization files for discrepancies, aiming to feed a pipeline of litigation. The legal foundation for denaturalization is narrow, reserved primarily for cases where material facts were concealed during the naturalization process. The Trump administration insists it is merely enforcing these existing laws with renewed vigor. "We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards fraud in the naturalization process and will pursue denaturalization proceedings for any individual who lied or misrepresented themselves," said USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser. He added the agency will work with the Justice Department to ensure "only those who meet citizenship standards retain the privilege of U.S. citizenship."

A new enforcement priority

The drive is a core component of President Donald Trump’s broader immigration agenda. A Justice Department memorandum from June 2025 stated the administration would "prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence." Potential targets include individuals linked to national security risks, war crimes, torture, or serious financial fraud against the government. The guidance also includes a broad provision for "any other cases ... that the division determines to be sufficiently important to pursue." Supporters argue this rigor is long overdue to protect the integrity of the immigration system. They contend that concerns about overreach are overblown, noting the government has historically been passive in pursuing improper naturalizations. With approximately 26 million naturalized citizens in the U.S., they assert that robust enforcement is necessary to maintain confidence in the value of citizenship.

Critics warn of politicization and fear

However, the establishment of monthly quotas has alarmed former officials and immigrant advocates. They warn that numerical targets risk politicizing a deeply consequential legal process and could create uncertainty for millions of law-abiding naturalized citizens. The process itself is arduous and carries a high legal bar; the government must present clear and convincing evidence to a federal judge that a misrepresentation was material to gaining citizenship. "It’s so important for current and future naturalized U.S. citizens to know that no president can unilaterally strip people of the citizenship they’ve worked so hard to earn," said Doug Rand, a former USCIS official. Critics also fear the policy could be applied retroactively, placing people under new scrutiny for issues that were not flagged when their citizenship was originally approved. This expansion moves denaturalization from a rare tool, once used to pursue hidden war criminals, to a frontline enforcement strategy. It raises profound questions about the permanence of American citizenship and the balance between rooting out fraud and fostering a climate of fear. For the millions who chose the United States and underwent the naturalization process, the promise of belonging now faces an unprecedented administrative test. The coming months will reveal whether this drive safeguards the system or redefines the very meaning of becoming an American. Sources for this article include: YourNews.com NBCNews.com Independent.co.uk
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