Overview
- The Justice Department filed civil denaturalization complaints against 40 naturalized Americans in federal courts between Aug. 21 and Oct. 2, a move the department announced Monday and described as the largest such filing period in modern history.
- The complaints allege a range of conduct, including concealment of criminal records, identity or immigration fraud, acting as an agent of a foreign power, money laundering, and sexual offenses, and list defendants from many countries with the largest group from Mexico.
- Denaturalization is a civil court process that does not strip citizenship automatically; the government must prove its claims in federal court by clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence before a judge can revoke naturalization.
- Civil-rights and human-rights groups warn the ramped-up campaign could chill immigrant communities and risk statelessness for some people while DOJ officials say the effort is needed to protect the integrity of naturalization.
- The filings reflect an administration-wide push that moved staff and set aggressive targets earlier this year and follows other batches of denaturalization suits filed in June, July, and August as part of a broader enforcement strategy.