Trump Administration Seeks to Revoke Citizenship of 12 Naturalized Americans

The Justice Department on Friday filed denaturalization actions in federal courts against 12 naturalized U.S. citizens born overseas, accusing them of fraudulently obtaining citizenship by concealing serious crimes or terrorism connections. Officials said the targeted individuals from countries including Colombia, Morocco, Somalia, Gambia, Cuba, Bolivia, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Iran, India and China committed offenses that would have barred them from naturalization had the facts been known.

The announcement marks a major expansion of the federal government's use of denaturalization, a process that has historically been invoked rarely. Between 1990 and 2017 the government filed just over 300 such cases, averaging about 11 per year. The pace rose to 42 cases annually during the first Trump administration before dropping to 16 per year under former President Biden, according to data compiled by a Hofstra University professor.

Among those targeted is a Colombian-born Catholic priest convicted of sexually assaulting a minor. Another is a man from Morocco who officials say was already working with al Qaeda, including assisting in a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange, when he naturalized in 2006 and pledged allegiance to the Constitution.

A Somali immigrant who pleaded guilty to providing material support to al Shabaab, a designated terrorist group, is also included. A former Gambian police officer stands accused of participating in the extrajudicial execution of fellow military officers, an act that qualifies as a war crime, which he allegedly concealed when he naturalized in 2011.

The cases further include a Cuban national identified as Victor Manuel Rocha who served as a spy for Cuba's intelligence service since 1973. He naturalized in 1978 and later held senior U.S. government positions, including head of inter-American affairs at the National Security Council in the 1990s and U.S. ambassador to Bolivia.

Rocha is already serving a 15-year prison sentence for his espionage conviction. A federal prosecutor in southern Florida described the separate civil denaturalization case against Rocha as "finishing the job," stating that a person who secretly served communist Cuba should not retain U.S. citizenship even while incarcerated.

To revoke citizenship the government must prove in court that the individuals concealed criminal activities or true identities to such an extent that citizenship would not have been granted. Denaturalization returns individuals to their prior immigration status, typically lawful permanent resident, making them subject to deportation based on criminal convictions or other grounds.

Some of those targeted have been convicted of crimes in the United States while others allegedly committed offenses in their home countries or engaged in immigration fraud such as using false identities or entering sham marriages. Officials described the actions as correcting egregious violations of the immigration system.

The Justice Department also announced it was seeking to denaturalize the former diplomat convicted of spying for Cuba in a separate filing on Friday.

“Individuals implicated in committing fraud, heinous crimes such as sexual abuse, or expressing support for terrorism should never have been naturalized as United States citizens.”

In an interview earlier this week an acting senior Justice Department official said only a very small percentage of the roughly 24 million naturalized citizens in the United States should be concerned, adding that those who obtained citizenship legally have nothing to worry about.

Denaturalization has traditionally focused on the most extreme cases such as former Nazis or individuals involved in war crimes in Bosnia or Chile. The current effort broadens the scope to include a wider range of criminal conduct and national security concerns.

The announcement comes as the administration signals a broader push to review naturalization grants where fraud or concealment is suspected. Civil and criminal denaturalization cases are referred to the Justice Department by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services when sufficient evidence exists.

Friday's actions represent the latest step in an expansion of denaturalization efforts that began gaining momentum in the first Trump administration before slowing under the subsequent administration.