The US Justice Department is rapidly expanding its efforts to strip naturalised Americans of their status, putting hundreds of immigrants in immediate legal jeopardy.
Federal authorities have quietly escalated a targeted campaign across the country to dismantle citizenship previously granted to foreign-born individuals. Legal experts warn that the true scale of this sweeping autumn crackdown is only just beginning to emerge.
Trump Administration Targets 250 Citizens by October
By October, at least 250 de-naturalisation lawsuits will be launched under an intensified Trump administration campaign to strip naturalised individuals of their US citizenship, a senior Justice Department official has revealed.
Federal prosecutors have already targeted 29 foreign-born Americans in less than two months this year, launching lawsuits to revoke their status over claims that their US citizenship was obtained through fraud.
If you come into our nation and break our laws, and lie in your immigration proceedings, you forfeit your privilege to be an American citizen. pic.twitter.com/3swXb5yn6g
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) June 18, 2026
Government attorneys are currently vetting more files to keep pace with an accelerating caseload that has already eclipsed historical trends. To put this into perspective, just 166 de-naturalisation lawsuits were initiated between 2008 and 12 June 2026, averaging fewer than 10 a year, according to data from Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
Shifting Federal Assets to Expand the Crackdown
The crackdown represents a key component of Donald Trump's wide-ranging hardline immigration strategy, a plan that extends far beyond a focus on undocumented migrants. It also highlights a clear shift within federal departments, which have reassigned resources to make the policy a top priority.
To drive the campaign forward, the Justice Department has quietly reassigned civil lawyers from other divisions, even removing staff from fraud investigation teams that the administration frequently touts as a priority. In addition, these files are being forwarded to local U.S. Attorney's Offices across the country, placing further strain on branches already grappling with heavy workloads.
Speaking to CNN, the senior DOJ official defended the policy, stating: 'This is a lawful tool that Congress has had on the books for decades,' while maintaining that the proceedings must take precedence 'to protect the integrity of American citizenship and make sure people who are present in this country and have enjoyed the benefits of citizenship are doing so lawfully, and the right people are acquiring citizenship.'
The Legal Grounds for Revoking Status
Among the lawsuits launched by the Trump administration to date are actions against individuals accused of committing fraud, sexually abusing a minor, or supporting terrorism either before or during their path to citizenship.
11 ILLEGAL ALIENS CHARGED IN WELFARE FRAUD SCHEME.@TheJusticeDept charged 15 suspects – 11 illegal aliens and four U.S. citizens – for their roles in a more than MILLION fraud scheme that included Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, MassHealth benefits,… pic.twitter.com/tDVgS3WFXD
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) June 18, 2026
Under federal statute, authorities have the legal power to strip a person of their citizenship if they provided misleading information material to their application, or if their status was obtained unlawfully due to ineligibility. Most de-naturalisation proceedings stem from these grounds and move through either civil or criminal courts, depending on the details of the case.
These proceedings do not affect individuals born in the United States who obtained citizenship by birthright. In a separate effort, Trump has issued an executive order to abolish automatic birthright citizenship, with a Supreme Court ruling on the policy's legality expected shortly.
Historical Precedent and Mounting Bureaucratic Pressure
Data from US Citizenship and Immigration Services shows that nearly 8 million people have successfully obtained naturalised US citizenship over the past decade.
De-naturalisation remains rare and requires a federal court order. Historically, the US has revoked citizenship over various forms of deception, including falsified arrival dates, ages and marital status, as well as political motivations, such as scrutinising pro-Nazi German Americans during World War II.
Insiders told CNN that while Justice Department lawyers previously targeted only clear-cut cases involving serious crimes, they now face growing pressure to pursue any legally viable case, including those involving minor paperwork errors. However, department officials maintain they are strictly focusing on individuals who concealed criminal records or ongoing offences during the application process.
Zero Tolerance and the Immediate Threat of Deportation
'Gaining U.S. citizenship is a privilege and under the steadfast leadership of President Trump, this Department of Justice maintains a zero-tolerance policy for the abuse of this process,' said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in a June statement.
Winning a de-naturalisation case reverts an individual to their previous immigration status, typically that of a permanent resident. However, depending on the grounds for losing citizenship, they could also face immediate deportation proceedings.
'The reason for the robustness of the protections, the reason the standard is clear and convincing evidence, etc. is because of Supreme Court decisions,' said Daniel Kanstroom, professor of law at Boston College Law School.
He noted that while the administration's emphasis on de-naturalisation is 'potentially worrisome', it is not yet cause for alarm, as current filings mirror cases pursued by previous administrations.
