Monday June 30, 2025
By Idorenyin UMOREN
With Agency reports
The United States, US, Department of Justice, DOJ has issued a new directive instructing attorneys in its civil division to prioritise denaturalisation cases involving individuals who may have fraudulently obtained US citizenship.
According to a memo released on June via the DOJ’s official website, the focus will be on naturalised citizens who “illegally procured” their citizenship or did so by “concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.”
Denaturalisation—the legal process of revoking citizenship—is typically reserved for individuals who were not born in the US but acquired citizenship through naturalisation. The DOJ emphasised that this move aims to ensure the integrity of the immigration and naturalisation process.
“The benefits of civil denaturalization include the government’s ability to revoke the citizenship of individuals who engaged in the commission of war crimes, extrajudicial killings, or other serious human rights abuses; to remove naturalized criminals, gang members, or, indeed, any individuals convicted of crimes who pose an ongoing threat to the United States; and to prevent convicted terrorists from returning to US soil or traveling internationally on a US passport,” the memo states.
The DOJ outlined specific categories of cases to be prioritised. These include individuals posing threats to national security — such as those with ties to terrorism, espionage, or illicit export of sensitive US technology — and individuals involved in torture, war crimes, or other human rights abuses.
Also high on the list are those who further criminal gangs or drug cartels; committed undisclosed felonies before naturalisation; or were involved in human trafficking, sex crimes, or violent offences. Financial crimes such as PPP loan fraud and Medicare or Medicaid fraud are also flagged.
Other targeted cases include those involving fraud against private entities, naturalisation obtained through corruption or misrepresentation, and referrals tied to ongoing criminal investigations.
The memo affects a significant population — over 25 million naturalised Americans, according to 2023 data from the Migration Policy Institute.
The move aligns with former President Donald Trump’s aggressive stance on both legal and illegal immigration. Recently, the US Supreme Court ruled that federal judges overstepped by blocking Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship, which grants automatic citizenship to anyone born on US soil.
Although the court did not decide on the constitutionality of the order itself, it opened the door for the Trump administration to pursue the policy further.
U.S Targets Fraudulent Citizenship As Over 25m Naturalised Americans Face Denaturalisation Risk
