Overview
- Justice Department leaders identified 384 naturalized citizens for possible citizenship revocation and will assign the cases to civil litigators in 39 U.S. attorney offices.
- Officials say they are reviewing the highest volume of denaturalization referrals in history after a Department of Homeland Security push to send up to 200 cases per month.
- U.S. law allows revocation only if the government proves fraud, concealment, misrepresentation, or certain disqualifying crimes, and courts require clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence.
- The department reports 15 people have lost citizenship since January 20, 2025 out of 22 cases filed, while historically the government brought about 305 cases from 1990 to 2017.
- Legal experts warn the scale-up could strain already thin civil divisions and unsettle naturalized communities, as shifting cases to many districts may create uneven handling and longer court backlogs.