Published October 6, 2026
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed 40 new lawsuits seeking to strip naturalized Americans of their citizenship for alleged crimes.
Federal prosecutors said in a statement Monday that they are targeting individuals accused of “serious crimes” including money laundering, child sexual abuse, visa fraud and tax evasion.
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The statement touted the 40 lawsuits as the largest denaturalization petition filed in such a short period of time under President Donald Trump. The petitions were filed between late August and early October.
“Today’s announcement represents the largest denaturalization effort in modern history,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Justice will continue to employ denaturalization processes to maintain national security and protect the American people.”
The 40 people targeted in Monday’s announcement include people from countries as diverse as Mexico, Pakistan, China and Sierra Leone.
They are accused of concealing criminal activity and other facts in an attempt to obtain citizenship. Their convictions primarily occurred after taking the oath of citizenship.
Two people on the list are also accused of engaging in espionage on behalf of China. The Justice Department argues that committing these crimes before becoming citizens meant that these individuals lacked “good moral character” and should have been denied citizenship.
Expanding the application of denaturalization methods
Laws that denaturalize American citizens have been in place for decades, but have historically been limited to serious crimes.
For example, after World War II, the U.S. government moved to denaturalize dozens of citizens accused of covering up involvement in the Holocaust or engaging in war crimes.
Prominent cases include that of Emma Goldman, a Lithuanian-born anarchist and women’s rights activist. She was imprisoned in 1917 for her anti-war activities, then deported to the Soviet Union.
However, since the end of the Cold War, such acts have become less common.
But Trump administration officials aim to expand denaturalization as part of a push to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history.
Under U.S. law, prosecutors can ask a court to revoke a person’s citizenship if a person born abroad conceals “material facts” during their citizenship application that would otherwise disqualify them.
But President Trump’s efforts to expand denaturalization procedures have faced pushback from human rights groups who say they could render people stateless.
Critics have also warned that Trump is trying to use denaturalization against specific groups he considers political opponents and enemies.
For example, last year, in response to allegations of a childcare scam involving Somali diaspora members in Minnesota, the Trump administration announced a plan to denaturalize large numbers of Somali-Americans.
“We want them sent back from where they came from, Somalia, perhaps the worst and most corrupt country on Earth,” President Trump wrote at the time.
President Trump’s Republican colleagues, particularly Congressman Andy Ogles, have also floated the possibility of stripping Ugandan-born New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani of his citizenship. Trump himself has falsely suggested that Mamdani may be in the country illegally.
At one point, President Trump even floated the idea of stripping technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, a close aide and adviser to his second administration, of his citizenship in 2025 following a falling out between the two.
President Trump is also pushing to end birthright citizenship, which is granted to virtually all children born in the United States. The few exceptions include babies of diplomats and foreign troops.
Birthright citizenship is protected by the U.S. Constitution and cannot be taken away like naturalized citizenship.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected President Trump’s effort to abolish birthright citizenship, but the legal battle continues after the president issued a second executive order that also sought to limit how birthright citizenship is applied.
