The Trump administration announced on Monday that it is seeking to denaturalize 17 American citizens who are accused of various offenses.
The 17 individuals have been convicted of violent or serious crimes, including sex offenses against a minor, wire and bank fraud and distributing wholesale drugs without a license, according to a Monday press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ). DOJ officials have said this is the largest ever move by the U.S government to use its denaturalization powers, CBS reported.
U.S. Citizenship can be revoked under the Immigration and Nationality Act if naturalization was obtained concealing criminal activity or facts that caused willful misrepresentation.
The process to denaturalize citizens is complex and takes a long time to work through the courts. The DOJ undertook an average of 11 denaturalization cases annually between 1990 and 2017 — many of which did not result in revocation of citizenship.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field offices have been asked to supply the Office of Immigration Litigation with 100-200 denaturalization cases per month throughout 2026.
“American citizenship is a privilege, and it must be earned honestly,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin said via the press release. “If you come here break our laws, and lie in your immigration proceedings, you forfeit that privilege.”
“DHS will not stand idly by while Americans are harmed by criminals including sex offenders, perpetrators of fraud, and drug traffickers who have exploited our generosity and gamed our immigration system,” Mullin added. “We will continue to use every lawful avenue to denaturalize and remove aliens.”
The DHS referred the Daily Caller News Foundation to Mullin’s comments in the DOJ’s press release when asked for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to the DCNF request for comment.
The Trump Administration has sought to further denaturalization efforts in recent months as part of the crackdown on illegal immigration.
The convicts’ crimes include health care fraud, multiple accounts of sexual abuse to a minor, misrepresentation of identity, drug trafficking, and bank fraud, according to the DOJ press release. An individual from Haiti has been convicted for sexually abusing his minor daughter. Another individual who was an ordained Roman Catholic priest sexually abused and groomed a minor.
One individual from Jamaica manipulated the price and volume of stock shares leading to more than $54 million artificial shares being invested into. Another individual from the Dominican Republic conspired with others to distribute more than $1.7 million in prescription wholesale drugs without a license, the press release stated.
“Criminal aliens are lying about their past crimes, including drug dealers, sexual predators, and fraudsters. Gaining U.S. citizenship is a privilege and under the steadfast leadership of President Trump, this Department of Justice maintains a zero-tolerance policy for the abuse of this process,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, according to the press release.
“We continue to work around the clock with our interagency partners to make sure U.S. citizenship is granted to those who truly deserve it,” Blanche added.
In May, the Department of Justice was working to denaturalize 12 individuals for war crimes, sexual abuse of a minor, and providing material to support terrorism.
The 17 individuals are originally from Cuba, Haiti, Columbia, Mexico, Yugoslavia, Jamaica, India, Dominican Republic, Somalia, People’s Republic of China, Congo, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Philippines, according to the press release.
“Anyone thinking they can defraud the naturalization process should think again. We will continue to pursue anyone who unlawfully or fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said according to the press release.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
