The Trump administration plans to dramatically escalate its crackdown on naturalized Americans who obtained citizenship through fraudulent means.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices have been asked to supply the Office of Immigration Litigation with 100-200 denaturalization cases per month throughout the 2026 fiscal year, according to internal guidance first obtained by the New York Times. A spokesman for the agency confirmed the plans to the Daily Caller News Foundation, arguing that a large-scale crackdown is needed following the Biden years.
“It’s no secret that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ war on fraud includes prioritizing those who’ve unlawfully obtained U.S. citizenship — especially under the previous administration,” Matthew Tragesser said in a statement provided to the DCNF. “We will pursue denaturalization proceedings for those individuals lying or misrepresenting themselves during the naturalization process.”
“We look forward to continuing to work with the Department of Justice to restore integrity to America’s immigration system,” Tragesser continued.
The numbers being requested from USCIS mark an unprecedented increase in denaturalization cases adjudicated in the modern era.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) lodged a total of 305 denaturalization cases between 1990 and 2017, resulting in an average of 11 denaturalization cases annually, according to immigration experts. Many of these cases did not even result in the revocation of citizenship.
The Trump administration indicated earlier this year that it plans to scale up denaturalization cases, with an internal DOJ memo released in June outlining policy objectives for its civil division, including “prioritizing denaturalization.”
“Past administrations have not been aggressive enough in rooting out and punishing citizenship fraud,” Matt O’Brien, former chief of the National Security Division within USCIS’ Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate, told the DCNF. “The steps currently being taken by the Trump Administration to protect the integrity of the naturalization process can’t be praised highly enough.”
“U.S. citizenship should only be available to those who meet the stringent good moral character requirements — and it should be stripped from those who lied to the government in order to get it,” continued O’Brien, who now serves as a executive deputy director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that advocates for stricter immigration regulations.
An individual is subject to denaturalization if they committed fraud during the citizenship application process, such as concealing past criminal activity or using a false identity, according to USCIS. Obtaining membership in terrorist organizations or communist affiliation after securing U.S. citizenship may also be grounds for denaturalization.
There are around 26 million naturalized citizens living in the U.S., making up about half of the country’s entire foreign-born population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This segment of the population has grown significantly over the years, with well over 800,000 legal permanent residents sworn in as new citizens in fiscal year 2024 alone.
Typically, a foreign national must spend at least five years as a legal permanent resident before applying for citizenship, while a spouse of an American citizen only needs to wait three years.
Immediately after following a deadly attack against two National Guard members by an Afghan national, federal immigration officials dramatically restricted asylum applications for all foreign nationals and completely halted immigration processes for individuals hailing from 19 countries deemed to be “high-risk.” Earlier in December, USCIS announced it was scaling back the timeframe in which asylum seekers and other foreign nationals can have valid work permits in the U.S.
“U.S. citizenship is the greatest gift on Earth. It carries with it the privilege of forever residing in America and the ability to depart from and return to the country at will,” O’Brien said. “Unfortunately, that means that many foreign nationals are willing to lie and cheat to obtain it.”
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