The Trump administration is moving to strip U.S. citizenship from 17 naturalized Americans in what officials are calling one of the largest coordinated denaturalization pushes in decades, targeting people convicted or accused of crimes ranging from health‑care fraud and drug trafficking to sexual abuse of minors. The Justice Department says the cases all involve immigrants who lied about or concealed disqualifying conduct during the naturalization process, but advocates warn that making denaturalization a front‑line enforcement tool risks eroding the security of citizenship for millions of foreign‑born Americans.
An “unprecedented” denaturalization sweep
In a statement released Monday, the Justice Department said it has filed denaturalization actions in multiple U.S. district courts seeking to revoke citizenship from 17 people who originally came from countries including Cuba, Haiti, Somalia, China, and India. A DOJ press release described the group as “naturalized sex offenders, fraudsters, drug dealers, and more,” accusing them of lying about serious past crimes when they applied to become Americans.
Officials told the Washington Examiner the batch of lawsuits is part of an “unprecedented” denaturalization surge, coming on the heels of a similar action last month against 12 people accused of concealing terrorist ties, war crimes, espionage, and sexual abuse. The department’s Civil Division has publicly listed denaturalization as a top enforcement priority since a June 2025 memo under President Donald Trump, a shift from the previous norm where revocation of citizenship was reserved for a handful of extreme cases each year.
“Those who intentionally concealed their criminal histories or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process will face the fullest extent of the law,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in an earlier statement announcing the May cases, language echoed in Monday’s announcement.
Who is being targeted, and why
The 17 individuals named across the new complaints have not all been identified publicly, but summaries from DOJ, Deutsche Welle and The Hill offer a picture of the alleged wrongdoing. The group includes:
- A Florida woman, Leid Delmas, convicted in a 36‑million‑dollar health‑care fraud scheme, accused of concealing her role in the conspiracy when she applied for citizenship.
- Andrea Marroquin, whose father is described as a prominent Colombian drug trafficker; she faces denaturalization over allegations she used her inheritance to support fraudulent real‑estate deals tied to bank fraud and money laundering, while failing to disclose those activities.
- Convicted offenders from Somalia, Haiti, Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, and Jamaica accused of withholding information about prior criminal conduct — including drug dealing and the sexual exploitation of minors — that would have rendered them ineligible to naturalize.
In its press release, DOJ says each case involves either illegal procurement of naturalization or procurement by concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation, the two main grounds for civil denaturalization under Section 340(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1451(a).
Officials stress that denaturalization does not happen because of crimes committed after naturalization; rather, the government must show that the person was never eligible in the first place, because they lied or omitted material facts that go directly to, such as serious criminal history, prior orders of removal, or support for terrorism or war crimes.
How denaturalization works, and why it’s rare
Under U.S. law, birthright citizens cannot be stripped of their citizenship, even for treason; only people who were naturalized can lose citizenship, and then only through a narrow process in federal court.
Civil denaturalization cases like the ones announced Monday are filed by DOJ in district court and must meet a high burden of proof. The government must show by “clear, unequivocal, and convincing” evidence that naturalization was illegally procured or obtained through concealment or willful misrepresentation of a material fact. Courts have repeatedly emphasized that doubts are resolved in favor of the citizen and that denaturalization is a “drastic” remedy.
If DOJ prevails, the court issues an order revoking the person’s citizenship and canceling their certificate of naturalization, effectively returning them to the immigration status they held before naturalizing, often that of a lawful permanent resident, but in some cases no valid status at all. That can pave the way for deportation proceedings, though removal is not automatic and may be contested separately.
Until recently, denaturalization was used primarily against Nazi war criminals, human‑rights abusers and a small number of individuals who committed egregious immigration fraud, such as hiding multiple identities or prior deportation orders. DOJ’s own fact sheets note that the Trump administration has sought to broaden the tool’s use to reach a wider range of conduct, including financial crimes, gun trafficking and child sexual abuse, where those acts were allegedly concealed during the citizenship process.
Civil‑rights groups warn of a chilling effect
Immigrant advocates and some legal scholars say the latest wave of denaturalization cases illustrates how a once‑extraordinary measure is becoming normalized as an enforcement strategy, raising worries about due process and equal protection.
A fact sheet by the American Immigration Lawyers Association warns that denaturalization is being used “in unprecedented ways, threatening the rights of naturalized citizens” by expanding the types of cases DOJ pursues and the kinds of conduct it deems “material” to eligibility. Forum Together, a legal‑advocacy group, cautions that aggressive use of 8 U.S.C. § 1451 risks creating a sense that citizenship for immigrants is conditional, unlike citizenship by birth.
Civil‑rights attorneys note that many naturalization applications are complex, spanning years of a person’s life and requiring them to recall and interpret interactions with law enforcement, civil proceedings, and travel. They argue that treating omissions or misunderstandings as willful fraud, particularly when the underlying crimes have already been prosecuted, could create a chilling effect, making lawful residents more hesitant to apply for citizenship at all.
The Trump administration counters that it is targeting only “egregious violations” where defendants intentionally hid serious wrongdoing and that law‑abiding naturalized citizens have nothing to fear.
A broader campaign, and what comes next
Monday’s announcement is part of a pattern of escalating denaturalization efforts. In May, DOJ filed suits against 12 other naturalized citizens alleged to have concealed links to terrorist organizations, war crimes, espionage, and child sex abuse. Earlier this year, the department highlighted denaturalization wins against an immigration and identity fraudster in California and a Ukrainian gun trafficker who hid his role in smuggling hundreds of firearms components overseas.
Internal DOJ guidance cited by practitioners makes clear the Civil Division intends to prioritize such cases, relying on referrals from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Immigration lawyers say they expect more large batches of denaturalization complaints, especially in fraud, national‑security, and child‑protection cases, as the pipeline of referrals grows.
For the 17 people now in the government’s sights, the road ahead will run through federal courts, where judges will weigh whether their past crimes and omissions meet the strict legal standard for stripping someone of citizenship. For millions of other naturalized Americans, the cases underscore a sobering reality: while citizenship is meant to be permanent, it is not, in law or in practice, entirely irrevocable.
