Overview
- Multiple outlets reported Thursday that the Justice Department identified 384 naturalized citizens for potential citizenship revocation and will assign the files to civil litigators in 39 U.S. attorney offices.
- DOJ officials say the effort focuses on naturalization fraud, and DHS was directed to send up to 200 potential cases each month to create a steady pipeline.
- Each case must go before a federal court, where judges require clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence, and defendants can face civil or criminal proceedings with rights to appeal.
- Since January 20, 2025, a DOJ official says courts have revoked citizenship for 15 people out of 22 cases filed, a sharp contrast with the historical average of about 11 denaturalization filings per year from 1990 to 2017.
- Legal scholars warn the scale-up could strain regional offices and chill confidence among millions of naturalized citizens, even as DOJ touts the highest volume of referrals on record.