The Trump administration is intensifying efforts to strip U.S. citizenship from naturalized, foreign-born Americans as part of its broader immigration enforcement strategy.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of Homeland Security agency responsible for legal immigration, has been directed under internal guidance to have field offices refer between 100 and 200 potential denaturalization cases per month in fiscal 2026 to the Department of Justice’s Office of Immigration Litigation, a dramatic escalation compared with the roughly 120 cases filed nationally from 2017 through early 2026.
Don’t Miss This: Tinubu appoints Magaji Da’u Aliyu as SHETCO MD, names new NEMSA leadership
Officials say the focus remains on cases in which citizenship was obtained through fraud or material misrepresentation during the naturalization process, with USCIS personnel reassigned and deployed to review files nationwide to identify possible targets.
Stripping citizenship is legally permitted only when it can be proven in federal court that the individual concealed serious criminal histories, misrepresented material facts or otherwise violated legal requirements at the time of naturalization.
The policy is part of a wider enforcement push that has included stepped-up deportations, visa revocations and efforts to redefine who qualifies as an American.
Don’t Miss This: Tinubu appoints Magaji Da’u Aliyu as SHETCO MD, names new NEMSA leadership
Critics, including civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups, warn that applying broad numerical targets risks politicizing a tool that historically was used sparingly for cases involving fraud and human rights abuses, potentially creating fear among millions of naturalized citizens.
Legal experts note that denaturalization requires high evidentiary standards in court and is unlikely to result in mass revocations without substantial proof in each individual case.
Image Credit:Nairametrics
Source: Nairametrics
