Trump Administration Launches Largest Denaturalization Effort in Modern History

The Justice Department has initiated the largest denaturalization effort in modern history, filing multiple lawsuits across the country to revoke the U.S. citizenship of 40 individuals. These individuals are accused of committing a range of serious offenses, including child sexual abuse, fraud, and tax evasion. The department announced the filings on Monday, stating that petitions were lodged against the targeted individuals between August 10 and October 2.

Attorney General Todd Blanche described the effort as unprecedented, noting that the defendants allegedly concealed critical facts from the U.S. government and represent serious criminal offenders. This initiative follows a previous announcement in August, where the administration touted the "largest coordinated denaturalization effort" in Justice Department history, pursuing denaturalization against 25 individuals.

Among the 40 individuals targeted in the latest filings, nine are from Mexico, four from Pakistan, and two from China. The remaining cases involve individuals from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Ghana, Haiti, India, Iran, Nepal, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Peru, the Philippines, the U.K., and Venezuela. The country of origin for one individual remains unknown.

More than half of the cases involve allegations of immigration or identity fraud, while several others are related to sexual offenses. Notable cases include Jinchao Wei, a former U.S. Navy sailor convicted of espionage and sentenced to over 16 years in prison for spying for China. Another individual, Ping Li, was sentenced to four years for conspiring to act as an agent of the Chinese government without proper notification.

This recent surge represents an escalation of denaturalization efforts undertaken by the Trump administration, which contends that these individuals "lied their way" into obtaining U.S. citizenship. Previous actions in June, July, and August saw the department move to revoke the citizenships of 17, 10, and 25 alleged law violators, respectively.

Ramping up denaturalization efforts

Since a 1967 Supreme Court ruling in Afroyim v. Rusk, U.S. citizenship has been largely irrevocable unless voluntarily renounced. However, foreign-born Americans who obtained citizenship through naturalization can lose it involuntarily if they lied during the application process or "illegally procured" it. A 2017 Supreme Court decision established a high bar of proof for stripping citizenship.

What was once a rare process has become more common during President Trump's terms. According to the Migration Policy Institute, the average number of denaturalization cases filed annually increased from 11 between 1990 and 2017 to 25 annually in Trump's first four years as president. During his second term, denaturalization has again been prioritized, with Trump warning about revoking citizenship for those who "deserve" it.

A June 2025 Justice Department memo outlined priority categories for denaturalization cases, including individuals who pose a national security threat, committed undisclosed felonies during the naturalization process, or engaged in violent crimes.

An unnamed department official indicated in June 2026 that the administration plans to file at least 250 denaturalization cases by October. A report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse suggests the actual number of denaturalization cases may be higher than publicly disclosed, citing difficulties in identifying all court actions and the Justice Department's selective publicization of cases. The report also noted that limited access to court documents obscures the reasons behind these denaturalization actions.