The Trump administration expects to try to revoke the U.S. citizenship of more than 250 foreign-born citizens by the end of the fiscal year in October, a Justice Department official told CBS News, outlining the unprecedented use of the federal government’s denaturalization powers.
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The Justice Department, which can revoke the citizenship of naturalized citizens accused of obtaining their citizenship illegally or through fraud, is planning to file at least 250 denaturalization cases in federal courts across the country in fiscal year 2026, which ends on Sept. 30.
The Justice Department has already filed several dozen denaturalization cases in recent weeks, as part of an aggressive Trump administration campaign to tighten the legal immigration process.
While 250 cases would make up a small percentage of the 24 million estimated naturalized citizens in the U.S., it still marks a dramatic escalation in the use of denaturalization, a legal procedure that has rarely been used by past administrations.
Between 1990 and 2017, for example, the U.S. government filed an average of just 11 denaturalization cases per year.
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CNN first reported the plan to file 250 denaturalization cases this fiscal year.
Federal law has long allowed the Justice Department to seek the denaturalization of foreign-born American citizens if there’s evidence they secured their citizenship illegally or fraudulently, such as by lying about criminal conduct on their immigration applications.
But the process is a lengthy and complicated one that requires prosecutors to convince federal judges to strip someone’s citizenship. And historically, denaturalization has been reserved for the most egregious offenders, such as human rights abusers and violent criminals. But last year, the Trump administration broadened the categories of cases that should be prioritized for denaturalization.
Those targeted in denaturalization cases can try to contest the allegations against them. But if the government prevails, they lose all the benefits of American citizenship; return to their prior immigration status, typically as green card holders; and face deportation to their countries of birth.
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