Overview

• A June memo instructs the DOJ’s Civil Division and U.S. attorneys to prioritize denaturalization proceedings against anyone deemed a “potential danger to national security,” moving beyond traditional fraud and war crimes cases.
• The Trump administration has filed five denaturalization cases in its first five months, following 102 cases in his first term compared with 24 under President Biden.
• President Trump publicly suggested revoking citizenship for critics such as Elon Musk and Rep. Zohran Mamdani, while Rep. Andy Ogles formally petitioned the attorney general to investigate Mamdani’s naturalization.
• Law professors warn the broad standard could allow retroactive scrutiny of naturalization applications, enabling political targeting and deterring free expression among immigrant communities.
• Civil rights advocates liken the expansion of denaturalization powers to tactics used by authoritarian regimes and caution that it may undermine constitutional protections and due process.