Administration Transfers Immigration Lawyers to Justice Department

The Trump administration is temporarily transferring immigration lawyers from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to U.S. attorney's offices to work on denaturalization cases, Axios reported. A USCIS spokesperson said the agency is providing the Justice Department with a team of skilled immigration law attorneys to support the effort.

Officials described the moves as lawyers being "force volunteered" or "volun-told" to change offices.

Denaturalization requires proving clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence that an individual willfully lied on a citizenship application. In some cases where citizenship was obtained illegally, criminal charges can also be filed. The administration filed 35 denaturalization cases since the start of the second term, including 12 this month, according to a Justice Department spokesperson.

A June 2025 Justice Department memo listed denaturalizations as a top priority.

In the first term, the administration created a dedicated team of 10-15 lawyers and identified 2,500 potential cases but referred only a fraction to the Justice Department. Officials have shortlisted 385 people for possible charges. USCIS chief Joe Edlow said last September that every office should use denaturalization as a benchmark and that a decentralized process is useful.

A Justice Department spokesperson said the assistance from USCIS lawyers will help advance efforts to promote public safety and root out fraud.