Trump Administration Files 33 Denaturalization Suits in 6 Weeks as DOJ Revives Citizenship Crackdown
Updated
Updated · trac.syr.edu · Jun 17
Trump Administration Files 33 Denaturalization Suits in 6 Weeks as DOJ Revives Citizenship Crackdown
3 articles · Updated · trac.syr.edu · Jun 17
Summary
At least 33 civil denaturalization complaints were filed from May 1 to June 12—15 in May and 18 in early June—after years when the federal government averaged fewer than one such case a month.
The surge follows the Trump administration’s reinstatement of denaturalization efforts and a June 2025 DOJ memo that made the cases a civil enforcement priority with broad discretion to pursue additional categories.
Three June complaints relied on fingerprint analysis showing applicants had previously sought immigration benefits under different identities, a sign USCIS may have resumed reviews tied to the Historical Fingerprint Enrollment project.
Of 62 cases with identifiable grounds since 2008, false identity or immigration fraud was the largest category; TRAC said the recent May-June cases it could review appeared facially meritorious.
TRAC warned the legal basis for denaturalization can be expansive—potentially reaching undisclosed minor offenses on naturalization forms—while public access to many complaints remains restricted, limiting outside scrutiny.
How will the government distinguish minor past mistakes from serious fraud in its expanded citizenship review?
What safeguards protect citizens from errors in decades-old fingerprint data used in these new cases?
Denaturalization Lawsuits Hit New High: Legal and Social Fallout of Trump’s 2026 Citizenship Crackdown
Overview
In May and June 2026, denaturalization lawsuits surged sharply, reflecting the Trump administration’s earlier promise to intensify efforts to revoke the citizenship of naturalized Americans. This escalation follows reports from April 2026 that the administration was preparing to strip citizenship from hundreds of individuals. The government’s pursuit of these cases has dramatically increased, and the current trend aligns with the administration’s aggressive stance. However, the Department of Justice has not yet released detailed reasons or a full list of targeted offenses for these new lawsuits, though the overall strategy remains focused on alleged fraud or misrepresentation in naturalization.