How the US Revokes Citizenship: Inside the DOJ's Record Denaturalization Push

On August 3, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the filing of 25 civil denaturalization lawsuits against naturalized citizens accused of concealing serious crimes during their immigration proceedings.[1][6]

The filings, which occurred between July 20 and August 3, represent the largest coordinated denaturalization effort in the department's history. According to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the individuals targeted secured their citizenship through fraud, fraudulent identities, or by hiding disqualifying facts such as violent offenses and child exploitation.[1][6]

This recent sweep is part of a broader acceleration. Since January 2025, the Justice Department has filed 123 civil denaturalization complaints, marking a record pace for a legal mechanism that was historically used sparingly.[1][6]

To understand this shift, it is necessary to examine how denaturalization works. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the U.S. government cannot simply revoke citizenship administratively. Instead, the Department of Justice must file a civil lawsuit in federal court, placing the burden of proof entirely on the government.[1][4]

The law outlines two primary pathways for revoking naturalization: if the citizenship was "illegally procured," or if it was procured by "concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation."[1][2]

Illegal procurement often hinges on the statutory requirement of "good moral character." Applicants must demonstrate this character for a specific period before naturalizing. If an applicant commits a serious crime during that window—even if they are not caught or convicted until years later—they are retroactively deemed ineligible for the citizenship they received.[2][3]

Willful misrepresentation involves actively lying to immigration officials. This includes checking "no" on application questions about past criminal conduct or using a false identity to bypass prior deportation orders.[3][5]

The evidentiary bar for the government is exceptionally high. Because citizenship is considered a fundamental right, federal prosecutors must prove their case with evidence that is "clear, unequivocal, and convincing," leaving no unresolved doubt for the presiding judge.[4]

The 25 cases announced in August illustrate the types of offenses triggering these lawsuits. In one case, a naturalized citizen from Cuba was targeted after it was discovered he had operated a fake medical clinic and submitted over $886,000 in fraudulent Medicare claims before his naturalization.[2][3]

Another case involves an individual from Pakistan who allegedly entered the United States under a false identity in 1992 to commit immigration fraud, while a third case centers on a man who concealed prior arrests for carrying a concealed firearm and grand theft.[1][2]

While the current volume of cases is unprecedented, the technological foundation for this effort began over a decade ago. In 2010, the Obama administration launched "Operation Janus" after discovering that hundreds of individuals with final deportation orders had obtained citizenship under different names.[3]

Operation Janus prompted a massive review of older, non-digitized fingerprint records. By cross-referencing these historical files with modern databases, the Department of Homeland Security identified thousands of discrepancies, laying the groundwork for future prosecutions.[3]

Historically, denaturalization was a rare tool reserved almost exclusively for Nazi war criminals, human rights violators, and severe national security threats. Between 1990 and 2017, the government averaged just 11 filings per year.[4]

Today, the scope has expanded to encompass a wider array of criminal conduct and fraud. Interagency coordination has tightened, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) actively referring cases to the Justice Department's Civil Division for litigation.[2][7]

Data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) confirms this shift. A review of recent lawsuits found that false identities and immigration fraud were the leading grounds, followed by serious criminal convictions such as narcotics distribution and sexual abuse.[3]

The expansion has sparked debate among legal scholars and civil rights advocates. Some warn that aggressively pursuing denaturalization could create a two-tiered system where naturalized citizens are perpetually vulnerable to having their status revoked for minor misstatements.[4]

TRAC researchers have noted that answering "no" to questions about uncharged criminal acts could theoretically be weaponized if the government decides to pursue minor infractions, though current cases appear focused on serious offenses.[3]

Meanwhile, some lawmakers are pushing to broaden the government's authority even further. Proposed legislation, such as the SCAM Act, would create new pathways to denaturalize citizens convicted of specific fraud or terrorism offenses within ten years of naturalizing, altering the traditional requirement that the fraud must have occurred during the application process.[5]

For now, the Justice Department maintains that its aggressive posture is strictly about preserving the integrity of the immigration system. As Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate stated, the goal is to ensure that those who defraud the naturalization process face the full force of the law.[1]