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Denaturalization Push and Enforcement Dragnets Rattle Naturalized Americans

Recent policy signals have shaken the expectation that citizenship guarantees lasting protection for those who naturalized.

FILE - Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents escort a detained immigrant into an elevator after he exited an immigration courtroom, Tuesday, June 17, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Olga Fedorova, File)
FILE - Protesters rally against immigration raids in San Francisco on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)
FILE - A woman clutches a U.S. flag as she and applicants from other countries prepare to take the oath of citizenship in commemoration of Independence Day during a Naturalization Ceremony in San Antonio, July 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
FILE - Illinois State Police stand guard as people including members of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) gather outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Ill., Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Adam Gray, File)

Overview

  • The Justice Department issued a summer memo committing to ramp up denaturalization of immigrants tied to crimes or national security risks.
  • Immigration roundups by masked, unidentifiable federal agents in cities like Chicago and New York have at times questioned or detained U.S. citizens.
  • A U.S. citizen who says he was detained by immigration agents twice has filed a federal lawsuit challenging his treatment.
  • President Trump publicly threatened the citizenship of New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who naturalized as a young adult.
  • Naturalized residents describe behavioral changes and a chilling effect, from carrying passports for domestic travel to reluctance to speak on the record.