The Department of Justice is ramping up denaturalizations of third-world fraudsters and terrorists who should have never become U.S. citizens in the first place.
Under Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the DOJ is going after foreign-born, naturalized U.S. citizens who commit crimes, fraud, or acts of terrorism.
The DOJ announced on X:
This Justice Department is prioritizing the denaturalization of immigrants who became citizens by committing fraud.
"If you're going to come and become a citizen in this country, but you're going to do it by fraud, you're going to do it in a way that's illegal, you should be…
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) May 7, 2026
This Justice Department is prioritizing the denaturalization of immigrants who became citizens by committing fraud.
“If you’re going to come and become a citizen in this country, but you’re going to do it by fraud, you’re going to do it in a way that’s illegal, you should be worried.” – Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche
During a recent interview with CBS News, Todd Blanche made it clear that simply having a U.S. citizenship isn’t going to protect you from deportation if you commit crimes in this country — or if you lied during the citizenship process.
Watch a clip from the CBS News interview here:
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche tells CBS News' @camiloreports that the Trump administration will target naturalized citizens who have committed fraud and revoke their citizenship.
"I'm not sure why this is even controversial," Blanche said of the denaturalization campaign.… pic.twitter.com/5yWGbuCWg4
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 7, 2026
CBS News reported further:
Blanche declined to provide a specific number on how many naturalized citizens could lose their citizenship under the crackdown, which is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to more heavily scrutinize legal immigrants.
While most components of the U.S. immigration system are overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department is responsible for revoking the citizenship of naturalized citizens.
That requires a complicated and rarely used legal procedure to persuade judges to denaturalize U.S. citizens born overseas through civil or criminal proceedings in federal court. To denaturalize a U.S. citizen, the Justice Department has to prove that person obtained their citizenship fraudulently, such as by lying on their applications. Between 1990 and 2017, federal officials filed slightly more than 300 denaturalization cases, or an annual average of 11.
Historically, denaturalizations have been limited to egregious cases, mainly involving naturalized citizens accused of being human rights abusers, violent offenders or threats to national security. But last year, the Justice Department published a memo instructing officials to prioritize broader categories of people for denaturalization, including those accused of financial fraud. Trump administration officials have also vocally publicized a push to ramp up denaturalizations.
ADVERTISEMENTThe campaign has alarmed some naturalized citizens, a population that stood at 24 million in 2023. Asked about those concerns, Blanche said he does not know “why they would be concerned” if they did not illegally obtain their citizenship.
“I don’t think it’s true that those 24 million citizens are worried. I think there’s a very small percentage of them who are worried. And yes, they should be,” he added.
Already, we are seeing the crackdown happening in real-time.
Today, the DOJ also announced that they are moving to de-naturalize a group of 12 individuals accused of serious crimes.
Fox News has more on that:
The Department of Justice has ramped up its use of a rarely deployed legal tool to strip citizenship, targeting 12 naturalized Americans accused of hiding ties to terrorism, violent crimes and other offenses, and signaling more cases will follow.
The action on Friday against 12 immigrants included bringing civil complaints or charges against those from Iraq, Somalia, China and India. It comes as acting Attorney General Todd Blanche touts expanding the typically difficult effort to denaturalize people and also follows the DOJ Civil Division ordering more denaturalizations in a memo last summer about the Trump administration’s priorities, which include cracking down on illegal immigration and fraud.
Blanche said in a statement to Fox News Digital of Friday’s sweeping enforcement action that anyone “who intentionally concealed their criminal histories or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process will face the fullest extent of the law.”
ADVERTISEMENTOne of the dozen, Ali Yousif Ahmed, gained citizenship after saying he fled Iraq in 2009 because al-Qaeda terrorists attacked his family, authorities said. But, authorities said, Iraq sought Ahmed’s extradition in 2019 for allegedly murdering two Iraqi police officers while a leader in al-Qaeda, a detail he allegedly omitted from the U.S. government.
Another, Salah Osman Ahmed of Somalia, naturalized in 2007 and pleaded guilty in 2009 to providing material support for terrorists and belonged to the terrorist group al-Shabaab, Fox News Digital learned. The DOJ alleged that joining a terrorist group within five years of naturalization was grounds for revoking citizenship.
Others included Abduvosit Razikov of Uzbekistan, who allegedly entered into a sham marriage to gain citizenship, and Oscar Alberto Pelaez of Colombia, a priest who was convicted in the United States of 13 counts of sexual abuse of a minor, including sodomy, and allegedly lied about the crimes during the naturalization process, Fox News Digital learned.
Ilhan Omar should be shaking in her boots right about now…
BREAKING: The Trump DOJ is set to announce a MAJOR expansion of denaturalizing third-worlders who FRAUDULENTLY obtained US citizenship
In focus are those who used FALSE identities to apply for immigration benefits, or entered into SHAM MARRIAGES to commit fraud.
Ilhan Omar? 😏… pic.twitter.com/xEHaMFKwX9
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 8, 2026
BREAKING: The Trump DOJ is set to announce a MAJOR expansion of denaturalizing third-worlders who FRAUDULENTLY obtained US citizenship
In focus are those who used FALSE identities to apply for immigration benefits, or entered into SHAM MARRIAGES to commit fraud.
Ilhan Omar? 😏
President Trump has said on multiple occasions that he would like to push for more de-naturalizations, and it looks like that might be finally happening under Blanche.
Deport Ilhan Omar and all the rest!
Good!! Hopefully they finally get her out of there. We shouldn't have foreign immigrants serving our country in congress. Especially when they hate America
— Jennie (@SFWsalesgirl) May 8, 2026
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