Justice Department Files Denaturalization Cases Against 12 Naturalized Citizens for Alleged Fraud, Terrorism Ties and Criminal Concealment

U.S. citizens accused of crimes, immigration fraud and ties to terrorist groups. The Trump administration described the filings as a major expansion of its denaturalization campaign, targeting people it says would never have received citizenship had their actions been known at the time.

U.S. citizen in 1978, is among those targeted. Rocha acted as a spy for Cuban intelligence as far back as 1973. S.

Ambassador to Bolivia. " Khalid Ouazzani, a 48-year-old native of Morocco who naturalized in 2006, faced charges even though he had already been working with al Qaeda, including assisting in a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange. The government alleges that his actions contradicted the pledge of allegiance to the Constitution he made during naturalization.

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Citizenship after claiming he fled Iraq in 2009 because al-Qaeda terrorists attacked his family. Iraq sought his extradition in 2019 for allegedly murdering two Iraqi police officers while a leader in al-Qaeda, a detail authorities say he omitted. Salah Osman Ahmed of Somalia naturalized in 2007 and pleaded guilty in 2009 to providing material support for terrorists; he belonged to the terrorist group al-Shabaab.

The Justice Department said joining such a group within five years of naturalization provides grounds for revocation. Abduvosit Razikov from Uzbekistan allegedly entered into a sham marriage to gain citizenship. Oscar Alberto Pelaez, from Colombia, is a Catholic priest convicted in the United States of 13 counts of sexual abuse of a minor, including sodomy; authorities say he lied about those crimes during the naturalization process.

The full list of 12 cases also includes individuals from China and India accused of similar concealment of serious offenses. " He told Fox News Digital that anyone who intentionally concealed their criminal histories or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process will face the fullest extent of the law.

Denaturalization cases averaged fewer than a dozen filed per year before the first Trump administration, according to data compiled by Irina Manta at Hofstra University.

The number surged to 42 per year during that administration, then fell to 16 a year under former President Biden. In the span of about 30 years, the Justice Department filed about 305 denaturalization cases. When Trump first took office in 2017, the government brought 168 cases in that initial period.

The Justice Department Civil Division ordered more denaturalizations in a memo last summer as part of the administration’s priorities on immigration and fraud. Prosecutors must prove with clear and convincing evidence that material fraud occurred during the naturalization process, meaning citizenship would not have been granted had the information been known.

The current filings follow that directive and signal additional actions in coming weeks.