Denaturalization and Citizenship: What You Should Know

On June 11, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced plans to "maximally pursue” denaturalization proceedings, meaning it will try to revoke the U.S. citizenship of certain Americans.  

Denaturalization is not new. It’s the process of stripping someone of their citizenship, and it's supposed to be rare: usually limited to cases involving serious crimes, serious human rights abuse, or fraud/misrepresentation. But the new DOJ memo signals a major shift in how often, and to whom, this process might be applied.

Who might be affected?

Federal law sets strict limits on when and how the government can take away someone’s citizenship. The Trump Administration might be planning to stretch these limits.  

The memo says the government can target:

• Anyone it “determines to be sufficiently important to pursue”

• Those it labels a “potential danger to national security”

• People connected to gangs or certain types of fraud/misrepresentation  

• People with pending criminal charges, even if they’re not convicted

Experts have criticized the DOJ’s memo for being too broad and granting too much discretion. These categories are vague enough to leave room for political targeting, and the Trump Administration already has a long track record of labeling immigrants as gang members and terrorists with little to no evidence.  

Because these are civil cases, people may not know they’re being targeted until it’s too late, and they might not have the right to a lawyer or even a chance to defend themselves.  

How does denaturalization work?

Cases usually fall into one of two categories: either the person obtained their citizenship through fraud/misrepresentation, or they're considered dangerous because of things like involvement in terrorist groups, serious abuse of human rights, or other serious criminal activity.  

Under U.S. law, denaturalization must go through a formal legal process. There must be clear and convincing evidence that someone deserves to have their citizenship revoked. If the government starts expanding the definition of what counts as a “fraud” or a “threat,” it opens the door to misusing this process for political purposes.  

Has this happened before?  

Yes, but not often, and not recently.

Denaturalization was used during the McCarthy era to target people with suspected ties to the Communist party, claiming that loyalty to the U.S. was incompatible with communist ideology.  

Later, the policy was mainly used against war criminals and former Nazis. The Justice Department only filed around 300 cases from 1990 to 2017. This changed during Trump’s first term, when denaturalization case referrals increased by 600 percent.

It’s reasonable to be wary of individuals who pose a genuine threat to the country. There is, of course, a legitimate need to hold war criminals and terrorists accountable. The problem is that the current Administration has a warped idea of who counts as a criminal, who deserves due process, and which American values should be protected.  

Can U.S. born citizens lose their citizenship?

Legally, people born in the U.S. can only lose their citizenship voluntarily, or in very extreme circumstances, such as after committing treason. However, this Administration has repeatedly attacked birthright citizenship, already showing a complete disregard for the rights of U.S. born citizens.  

In a recent post, Trump suggested illegally stripping citizenship from U.S. born comedian Rosie O’Donnell, not because she’d committed a crime, but because she’s exercised her first amendment rights by criticizing him. There's no formal effort to denaturalize U.S. born citizens, and kind of rhetoric doesn’t change the law, but it does remind us that even rights we think are permanent can be called into question.

This policy is dangerous  

In a country where neo-Nazis are “very fine people,” asylum seekers are seen as gang members, and due process doesn’t matter, we can make some pretty bleak assumptions about the kind of people who might be targeted by denaturalization proceedings.  

As it was in the McCarthy era, the threat of denaturalization is already being used as a tool against free speech. A Republican congressman has called for the denaturalization of NYC mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani.

Citizenship is supposed to be permanent, and foreign-born citizens should not be treated as second class. Losing citizenship can mean losing everything: the right to work, to vote, to travel, and to stay in the only country you may know as home. It can leave someone stateless, without the protection of any government.  

If you’re concerned about your naturalization status or have questions about your legal rights, speak with an immigration attorney.  

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