The Trump administration is moving to strip citizenship from 17 naturalized Americans accused of immigration fraud, marking a major expansion of its denaturalization campaign.
Justice Department officials said the effort, expected to be announced Monday, represents the largest use of the federal government’s denaturalization powers in modern history.
The move is part of President Donald Trump’s broader immigration crackdown after he returned to the White House vowing to carry out a historic deportation blitz.
Denaturalization allows the federal government to ask a court to revoke citizenship from foreign-born Americans who allegedly obtained it through fraud or were otherwise ineligible to become citizens.
Before Trump’s return to office, the power was rarely used. Between 1990 and 2017, the Justice Department filed an average of just 11 complaints per year seeking to denaturalize U.S. citizens, according to historical figures.
Federal law has long allowed the government to pursue denaturalization in cases where officials believe someone lied or concealed key information during the citizenship process, including criminal conduct.
But the process is typically lengthy and difficult, requiring the government to convince federal judges in civil or criminal proceedings that a naturalized citizen should lose citizenship.
The Trump administration has made clear it wants to use that power far more aggressively.
In 2025, the Justice Department expanded the categories of naturalized citizens who should be prioritized for denaturalization. Last month, officials announced a dozen denaturalization cases, which at the time marked the largest effort of its kind in years.
The latest round goes even further.
Some of the 17 people targeted were convicted of violent or serious crimes, including sex offenses involving children. Others were convicted of fraud crimes or accused of immigration fraud.
In federal court complaints filed across the country in recent days, Justice Department officials argued that the individuals concealed criminal activity when applying for U.S. citizenship or were otherwise ineligible to be naturalized.
Officials also argued some lacked “good moral character,” a requirement in the naturalization process.
This Department of Justice has filed DENATURALIZATION ACTIONS in various U.S. district courts against 17 individuals accused of serious offenses.
“When criminal aliens exploit the naturalization process by breaking the law, there are consequences. Criminal aliens are lying about… pic.twitter.com/mhr1D9xxT8
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) June 8, 2026
Those targeted include a Haitian immigrant accused of sexually abusing his daughter; a man from the former Yugoslavia convicted of sexually abusing a child under 15; an immigrant from Mexico convicted of receiving sexually explicit images of minors; a former Catholic priest born in Colombia accused of child sex abuse; and a Filipino-born man who pleaded guilty to a child sex crime.
The group also includes an Indian immigrant accused of filing fraudulent H-1B visa petitions, the daughter of a Colombian drug trafficker accused of money laundering, a Jamaican-born man convicted of wire fraud and a Cuban-born woman accused of defrauding a tribal casino.
Other naturalized citizens were accused of using false identities.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Justice Department would take a hard line against those accused of abusing the citizenship process.
“Criminal aliens are lying about their past crimes, including drug dealers, sexual predators, and fraudsters,” Blanche said.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the administration would keep using the legal tools available to go after people who allegedly obtained citizenship dishonestly.
“American citizenship is a privilege, and it must be earned honestly. If you come here, break our laws, and lie in your immigration proceedings, you forfeit that privilege,” Mullin said.
Mullin said the Trump administration would “continue to use every lawful avenue to denaturalize and remove aliens.”
The targeted citizens will be able to challenge the government’s filings in court and fight to keep their citizenship.
If they are denaturalized, they would return to their prior immigration status, usually as permanent U.S. residents. They would also lose the legal protections and benefits that come with American citizenship, including protection from deportation.
The cases signal a sharper turn in Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda, with the administration now going beyond border arrests and deportations to revisit citizenship cases it says were built on lies.
For Trump officials, the message is blunt: citizenship obtained through fraud is not untouchable.
Download the FREE Trending Politics App to get the latest news FIRST >>
