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The Trump administration is preparing to expand efforts to revoke citizenship from foreign-born Americans who allegedly committed fraud during the naturalization process, according to reports citing internal guidance.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has instructed its field offices to provide between 100 and 200 potential denaturalization cases per month in fiscal year 2026 to the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, The New York Times reported.
If carried out, that pace would represent a significant increase. The Department of Justice has filed just over 120 denaturalization cases combined from 2017 through this year, according to the Times.
NBC News reported that USCIS has deployed specialists to field offices nationwide and reassigned personnel to identify cases in which citizenship may have been obtained through fraud or material misrepresentation. The goal is to increase referrals to DOJ attorneys, who must prove their cases in federal court.
Federal law permits denaturalization only in limited circumstances, primarily when an individual concealed material facts or committed fraud during the citizenship application process.
Administration officials say the effort is focused on enforcing existing statutes rather than creating new authorities.
“We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards fraud in the naturalization process and will pursue denaturalization proceedings for any individual who lied or misrepresented themselves,” USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser told NBC News.
He added that the agency would coordinate with the Justice Department to ensure that “only those who meet citizenship standards retain the privilege of U.S. citizenship.”
Potential cases may involve individuals allegedly connected to gang activity, terrorism, war crimes, financial fraud or other serious offenses, according to the reports.
In November, President Trump told reporters, “We have criminals that came into our country and they were naturalized maybe through [former President Joe] Biden or somebody that didn’t know what they were doing.”
He added, “If I have the power to do it — I’m not sure that I do, but if I do — I would denaturalize, absolutely.”