The administration of Donald Trump is pushing to revoke U.S. citizenship from naturalised immigrants who have committed certain crimes, according to a memorandum sent by the Justice Department to employees in its Civil Division.
Dated June 11, the memo urges prosecutors to prioritise denaturalisation cases involving individuals who fall into various crime categories, giving wide discretion to federal attorneys.
The crimes that may lead to loss of citizenship are prosecuted through civil proceedings, meaning the accused are not entitled to legal representation as they would be in criminal cases. As of 2023, approximately 25 million immigrants had been granted U.S. citizenship, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.
Deputy Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, who signed the memo, stated that denaturalisation will be one of the division’s top five priorities. “The Civil Division will prioritise and promote denaturalisation wherever permitted by law and supported by evidence,” he wrote.
The memo lists several crime categories that could lead to loss of nationality, including threats to national security, participation in torture, war crimes, or other human rights violations, membership in drug cartels, human trafficking, and sexual offences.
It also includes financial crimes such as fraud involving Medicaid, Medicare, and other public health programs. Critics are especially concerned about the vagueness of some categories and the broad authority given to prosecutors, which they warn could result in arbitrary or politically motivated actions.
The document clarifies that these categories do not limit the division’s authority to bring other cases, nor are they ranked in order of importance. The Civil Division also reserves the right to prosecute cases outside the listed categories as it sees fit.
Denaturalisation was widely used during the McCarthy era in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when individuals suspected—rightly or wrongly—of communist ties were targeted.
During President Barack Obama’s administration, denaturalisation expanded with the aid of digital tools that allowed officials to revisit citizenship applications and detect fraud, such as undisclosed criminal records or illegal group affiliations. Under Trump, this has extended to include civil crimes as well.
The Case of Elliott Duke
One example occurred on June 13, when a judge revoked the citizenship of Elliott Duke, a U.S. military veteran originally from the United Kingdom, after he was convicted of distributing child sexual abuse material.
According to the Justice Department, Duke began distributing such material via email and the internet in 2012 while stationed in Germany. He admitted to the crimes before applying for U.S. citizenship but failed to disclose them during the naturalisation process.
“If you commit serious crimes before becoming an American citizen and then lie about them during the process, the Justice Department will uncover the truth and take action,” said Shumate. Duke had renounced his British citizenship to become a U.S. citizen and is now stateless.
Political Ramifications
The denaturalisation push has also touched on political figures. Zohran Mamdani, a New York City mayoral candidate and surprise winner of the Democratic primary, became a target after Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on June 26, urging her to strip Mamdani of U.S. citizenship for allegedly supporting terrorist groups.
Mamdani, born in Uganda and raised in New York, has been accused of sympathising with an organisation supporting the Palestinian group Hamas. During the campaign, Mamdani publicly advocated against both antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Legal experts have voiced serious concerns over the constitutionality of the Justice Department’s approach, especially regarding the potential impact on families of naturalised citizens and children who gained citizenship through their parents.
Denaturalisation is seen as part of the Trump administration’s broader anti-immigration agenda and its efforts to redefine American identity. Just last week, Trump won Supreme Court backing in a case concerning birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment.
While the Court did not rule directly on the constitutional right itself, it sided with Trump in affirming that lower court rulings cannot block executive decisions national, paving the way for some states to challenge birthright citizenship in the future.