WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced on Monday that it is seeking to revoke the U.S. citizenship of 17 naturalized citizens as part of an expanded denaturalization effort targeting individuals accused of serious offenses.
The Department of Justice filed legal actions against the group, alleging offenses including sexual abuse of a minor, wire and bank fraud, and distributing drugs wholesale without a license, according to a DOJ press release. The individuals hail from countries including Cuba, Haiti, Colombia, Mexico and Jamaica.
The move represents one of the largest single batches of denaturalization cases pursued by the administration to date. It follows a similar action approximately one month earlier involving about a dozen other naturalized citizens and builds on broader efforts to increase use of denaturalization powers under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Denaturalization allows the government to seek revocation of citizenship obtained through illegal procurement or concealment of material facts. Officials said the cases involve individuals who allegedly committed fraud during the naturalization process or subsequent serious crimes.
The administration has signaled plans for a significant expansion of such proceedings. Earlier this year, the Justice Department identified hundreds of potential cases and reassigned them to prosecutors in U.S. attorney’s offices nationwide to accelerate the process, according to reports.
Immigrant rights advocates and legal experts have raised concerns about the scale and due process implications of the initiative. Some groups described the effort as part of a wider immigration enforcement push, while administration officials have framed it as a targeted measure against individuals who misrepresented themselves or committed grave offenses after gaining citizenship.
"Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized U.S. citizen’s citizenship may be revoked, and certificate of naturalization canceled, if the naturalization was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation," the Justice Department stated in its announcement.
Historically, denaturalization cases were pursued sparingly, often averaging around a dozen per year in prior decades before seeing an increase in recent administrations. The current effort has drawn comparisons to past uses of the tool, primarily against war criminals or those involved in terrorism-related activities.
The cases announced on Monday are proceeding in federal courts. Details on individual timelines and outcomes remain subject to judicial proceedings. As of June 10, additional filings or responses from the affected individuals had not been detailed in public announcements.
