The Trump administration is expanding its immigration crackdown beyond deportations to target the citizenship of naturalized Americans.
The Justice Department has filed more denaturalization cases in the last 16 months than during all four years of Former President Joe Biden's administration, with attorney general offices tasked with identifying hundreds of additional deportation cases.
Department leaders are pressuring lawyers to generate cases quickly, sometimes by scanning news stories and social media posts. While current cases largely involve serious criminal conduct, legal scholars warn the infrastructure being built poses greater dangers.
"Once it becomes easy to take somebody's citizenship away — it becomes easy to take anybody's citizenship away," warned Cassandra Robertson, law professor at Case Western Reserve University.
Civil denaturalization proceedings offer minimal protections: defendants lack access to appointed counsel, no statute of limitations applies, and some cases proceed with little court appearance.
President Donald Trump and officials have publicly threatened citizenship for political figures, including New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), prompting concerns about political retribution targeting opponents.
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