DOJ Launches Largest Denaturalization Effort in Modern History Against 40 Naturalized Citizens

The U.S. Department of Justice has asked federal courts to strip American citizenship from 40 naturalized citizens, announcing what it called the largest denaturalization effort in modern history. The civil complaints, filed in federal courts between August 21 and October 2, accuse the individuals of concealing crimes, immigration fraud, or other disqualifying information during the naturalization process.

Attorney General Todd Blanche unveiled the cases on Monday, October 5, framing them as a national security imperative. “Today’s announcement marks the largest denaturalization effort in modern history,” Blanche said in a statement. “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Justice will continue to employ the denaturalization process to maintain our national security and protect the American people.”

• What Denaturalization Actually Means
• The 40 Cases at the Center of the Largest Denaturalization Effort
• How the Denaturalization Process Works
• Putting the Numbers in Historical Context
• Why the Push Is Happening Now
• What Supporters and Critics Are Saying
• What This Means for Naturalized Citizens
• The Bottom Line

What Denaturalization Actually Means

Denaturalization is the legal process of revoking U.S. citizenship from someone who obtained it through naturalization. It does not apply to people born as American citizens. Birthright citizenship cannot be taken away through this process.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized person’s citizenship can be revoked only if the government proves it was illegally procured or obtained through concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation. In plain terms, the person must have lied about something important or hidden disqualifying information when applying.

These are civil cases, not criminal prosecutions. The Justice Department files a complaint in federal court, and a judge decides the outcome. The individuals keep their citizenship unless and until a court orders otherwise. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the new filings in the largest denaturalization effort in modern history are requests to the courts, not final revocations.

The 40 Cases at the Center of the Largest Denaturalization Effort

The 40 complaints were lodged in multiple federal district courts. The defendants range in age from their mid-30s to mid-70s. Their countries of origin span the globe, including Mexico, Colombia, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Nepal, Peru, Haiti, Ghana, China, and Cambodia.

The alleged misconduct covers a wide spectrum. The government says the cases include espionage, money laundering, sexual offenses against minors, and violent crime. One man is accused of acting as an agent for the Chinese Communist Party. Another defendant allegedly failed to disclose a prior conviction for transporting child pornography. Other complaints cite voluntary manslaughter, aggravated sodomy against a special-needs adult, the use of false identities, hidden deportation orders, and marriage fraud.

Not every case involves a violent crime. Reporting on the filings indicates that at least 19 of the 40 people face denaturalization proceedings tied to accusations that they lied on visa or immigration forms. One woman is accused of concealing money-laundering activity that began before she became a citizen. The common thread, according to the department, is deception during the naturalization process itself.

How the Denaturalization Process Works

A denaturalization case typically begins with an investigation, often conducted by Homeland Security Investigations or the FBI. When investigators uncover evidence of fraud in the naturalization process, Justice Department attorneys file a civil complaint in federal district court. The largest denaturalization effort in modern history has dramatically increased the number of such filings.

The government carries the burden of proof. It must present clear and convincing evidence that the citizenship was illegally obtained or secured through fraud. The defendant has the right to respond, hire an attorney, and contest the case before a judge. There is no jury in these proceedings.

If the judge rules for the government, the person’s certificate of naturalization is canceled. They revert to whatever immigration status they held before naturalizing, which can open the door to removal proceedings. If the government’s case fails, the person keeps their citizenship. Filing a complaint, by itself, changes nothing about anyone’s legal status.

Putting the Numbers in Historical Context

For most of American history, denaturalization was extraordinarily rare. Between 1990 and 2017, the Justice Department averaged only about 11 denaturalization cases per year. The process was reserved for the most egregious offenders, such as war criminals and terrorists.

The Biden administration filed just 24 denaturalization cases across four full years in office. That pace explains the administration’s record-setting language about the current push.

Since President Trump returned to office on January 20, 2025, the department has filed 120 denaturalization cases through late August 2026 as part of the largest denaturalization effort in modern history. Officials say they are aiming for 250 filings by the end of October. About five months ago, the New York Times reported that the department had identified 384 naturalized citizens whose cases it wanted to pursue. Officials have also said the Department of Homeland Security is now sending the Justice Department hundreds of names each month for review.

Why the Push Is Happening Now

The surge is part of the administration’s broader immigration crackdown, which has made denaturalization an explicit Justice Department priority. Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate stated the department’s position bluntly: “Every single one of these individuals lied their way into U.S. citizenship.” He added that the administration will “continue to pursue the largest denaturalization effort in department history to restore trust and integrity in U.S. citizenship.”

The effort fits a wider pattern of immigration enforcement actions this year, including the recent H-1B visa crackdown affecting major tech employers. Denaturalization has moved from a rarely used legal tool to a centerpiece of enforcement policy in the largest denaturalization effort in modern history.

President Trump has previously floated denaturalization as a threat against high-profile figures, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and tech executive Elon Musk, according to Time magazine. That rhetoric signals how central the tool has become to the administration’s approach.

What Supporters and Critics Are Saying

Supporters of the push argue the principle is straightforward: citizenship obtained through fraud was never validly obtained in the first place. They say removing serious criminals who deceived the government protects national security and preserves public trust in the naturalization system. From this view, the scale of the effort simply reflects the scale of fraud uncovered by investigators.

Critics counter that turning a once-rare remedy into the engine of the largest denaturalization effort ever attempted risks sweeping in people whose cases involve paperwork mistakes rather than genuine threats. They point to the 19 cases tied to visa-form discrepancies and warn that aggressive use of the process could frighten law-abiding naturalized citizens. Legal observers note that denaturalization was historically reserved for the worst offenders, and they question whether the current pace allows for careful, individualized review of each case.

Civil liberties advocates also raise due process concerns, arguing that the threat of losing citizenship years after naturalizing creates lasting insecurity for immigrant communities, even as the largest denaturalization effort in modern history moves forward.

What This Means for Naturalized Citizens

For the overwhelming majority of America’s roughly 25 million naturalized citizens, the largest denaturalization effort in modern history changes nothing. Denaturalization requires the government to prove fraud or concealment in federal court. It cannot be used against someone simply for holding unpopular views or committing a minor infraction after becoming a citizen.

Immigration attorneys generally advise naturalized citizens to keep copies of their immigration paperwork and to be completely truthful on every government form. Anyone who receives notice of a denaturalization complaint should consult an immigration lawyer immediately, since the cases move through federal court on strict timelines.

The current cases focus on alleged deception during the naturalization process itself. Honest applicants who disclosed their history accurately face no new risk from this enforcement wave.

The Bottom Line

The Justice Department’s 40 new cases represent an unprecedented acceleration of a legal tool that was once used sparingly. Whether the largest denaturalization effort in modern history grows larger in the months ahead will depend on what happens in court, how many of the 250 targeted filings materialize by the end of October, and whether judges accept the government’s evidence case by case.

For now, the filings at the heart of the largest denaturalization effort in modern history are accusations, not verdicts. Each of the 40 individuals will have their day in federal court, and the outcomes will shape how far this historic enforcement push ultimately reaches.