The Trump Administration has ramped up the controversial practice of revoking citizenship from immigrants.
According to USA Today, “the Justice Department has moved to revoke the citizenship of nearly 90 people since the start of 2025. By October, the government aims to file at least 250 denaturalization cases in federal court.”
This has traditionally been a controversial process, which few non-Trump presidents have pursued.
“The administration is on pace to pursue more denaturalization cases than any other in recent modern American history. By comparison, the Biden administration brought 24 cases over four years; the Trump administration filed 102 denaturalization cases in the president’s first term, according to the DOJ,” USA Today said.
Citizenship should not be a piece of paper that can be revoked whenever someone acts badly. If so, it’s the cheapest, flimsiest, weakest form of citizenship, and none of us should want it.https://t.co/Gbz6WFiWzb
— The Editorial Board (@johnastoehr) July 26, 2026
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
“This is a major increase that we haven’t seen in decades,” said Cassandra Robertson, a professor of law at Case Western Reserve University, told the newspaper.
But Trump’s DHS Secretary has defended the practice.
“When you commit fraud during the naturalization process, you forfeit the right to keep your U.S. citizenship,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement published by the newspaper. “DHS is committed to ensuring we denaturalize and remove these fraudsters with every tool at our disposal.”
The White House’s official social media accounts, meanwhile, touted the denaturalization effort last week, calling it “The Largest Denaturalization Effort Ever.”
The Largest Denaturalization Effort Ever.
American citizenship through naturalization is a privilege. America’s laws and values must be upheld and respected. pic.twitter.com/uzytw7USOj
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 20, 2026
One expert told USA Today that the effort may not meet the goal it set out.
“I don’t think this will make any dent in the administration’s deportation goals,” Stacey Young, a former DOJ lawyer, said of the administration’s recent moves. “I think it does send a message that naturalized citizenship is impermanent and precarious.”
“Occasionally the civil division would partner with U.S. attorney’s offices, but that was rare,” Young added of the efforts of previous administrations. “I don’t remember any cases being handled exclusively by U.S. attorney’s offices.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
