The US Department of Justice has directed its civil division to expand efforts to revoke the citizenship of naturalized Americans, especially in cases involving serious crimes or fraud. According to a June 11 internal memo reviewed by NPR, the department has made denaturalization one of its top five enforcement priorities.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate wrote, "The Civil Division shall prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence."
The initiative, which targets individuals who were not born in the US, comes as nearly 25 million immigrants hold naturalized status, according to 2023 government data.
The policy shift has already seen results. On June 13, a judge ordered the revocation of US citizenship from Elliott Duke, a military veteran originally from the UK, who had been convicted for distributing child sexual abuse material. Duke, who uses they/them pronouns, admitted to engaging in the illegal activity before obtaining US citizenship. NPR reported that Duke, now stateless, had relinquished UK citizenship during the naturalization process and struggled to secure legal representation during the civil proceedings.
The use of civil litigation — rather than criminal prosecution — has raised legal and constitutional concerns. Cassandra Robertson, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University, told NPR, "Stripping Americans of citizenship through civil litigation violates due process and infringes on the rights guaranteed by the 14th Amendment." She added that civil denaturalization carries a lower burden of proof and does not provide the right to government-funded legal counsel.
Critics say this approach revives tactics last used extensively during the McCarthy era and risks creating unequal classes of citizenship. “It is kind of, in a way, trying to create a second class of US citizens,” said Sameera Hafiz of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, speaking to NPR.
Supporters, such as Hans von Spakovsky from the Heritage Foundation, defended the move. “Anyone who has abused the privilege of the opportunity of becoming a US citizen should have that citizenship revoked,” he told NPR. He dismissed due process concerns by stating that civil proceedings do not require taxpayer-funded counsel.
Legal scholars warned that the DOJ memo's language grants wide discretion to pursue denaturalization in broad categories such as national security violations or government-related fraud. Steve Lubet, professor emeritus at Northwestern University, told NPR, “Many of the categories are so vague as to be meaningless.”
The practice of denaturalization was significantly curtailed after a 1967 Supreme Court ruling, but efforts resumed during the Obama administration under Operation Janus. Under former President Donald Trump’s first term, the process expanded further, and with Trump back in office, the policy is now being aggressively pursued once again.
Robertson remains skeptical of how many cases will meet the government's criteria. “If they’re really intending maximal enforcement,” she told NPR, “they're going to end up focusing on people who have not committed any serious infraction.”
The Department of Justice and the Trump administration declined NPR’s requests for comment.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate wrote, "The Civil Division shall prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence."
The initiative, which targets individuals who were not born in the US, comes as nearly 25 million immigrants hold naturalized status, according to 2023 government data.
The policy shift has already seen results. On June 13, a judge ordered the revocation of US citizenship from Elliott Duke, a military veteran originally from the UK, who had been convicted for distributing child sexual abuse material. Duke, who uses they/them pronouns, admitted to engaging in the illegal activity before obtaining US citizenship. NPR reported that Duke, now stateless, had relinquished UK citizenship during the naturalization process and struggled to secure legal representation during the civil proceedings.
The use of civil litigation — rather than criminal prosecution — has raised legal and constitutional concerns. Cassandra Robertson, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University, told NPR, "Stripping Americans of citizenship through civil litigation violates due process and infringes on the rights guaranteed by the 14th Amendment." She added that civil denaturalization carries a lower burden of proof and does not provide the right to government-funded legal counsel.
Critics say this approach revives tactics last used extensively during the McCarthy era and risks creating unequal classes of citizenship. “It is kind of, in a way, trying to create a second class of US citizens,” said Sameera Hafiz of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, speaking to NPR.
Supporters, such as Hans von Spakovsky from the Heritage Foundation, defended the move. “Anyone who has abused the privilege of the opportunity of becoming a US citizen should have that citizenship revoked,” he told NPR. He dismissed due process concerns by stating that civil proceedings do not require taxpayer-funded counsel.
Legal scholars warned that the DOJ memo's language grants wide discretion to pursue denaturalization in broad categories such as national security violations or government-related fraud. Steve Lubet, professor emeritus at Northwestern University, told NPR, “Many of the categories are so vague as to be meaningless.”
The practice of denaturalization was significantly curtailed after a 1967 Supreme Court ruling, but efforts resumed during the Obama administration under Operation Janus. Under former President Donald Trump’s first term, the process expanded further, and with Trump back in office, the policy is now being aggressively pursued once again.
Robertson remains skeptical of how many cases will meet the government's criteria. “If they’re really intending maximal enforcement,” she told NPR, “they're going to end up focusing on people who have not committed any serious infraction.”
The Department of Justice and the Trump administration declined NPR’s requests for comment.
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