The Justice Department has identified 384 foreign-born naturalized Americans whose citizenship it seeks to revoke, marking a significant escalation in denaturalization efforts under the Trump administration. Senior officials announced last week that civil litigators in 39 regional U.S. attorneys' offices would handle these cases, shifting from the traditional use of immigration specialists.

This push follows a December 2025 directive from the Department of Homeland Security to refer 100 to 200 potential denaturalization cases per month to the Justice Department. Matthew Tragesser, a Justice Department spokesman, stated that the department is "pursuing the highest volume of denaturalization referrals in history" and is "laser focused on rooting out criminal aliens defrauding the naturalization process." He noted that referrals filed in one year already exceed the total from the entire Biden administration.

Denaturalization occurs through civil or criminal proceedings in federal court, where the government must prove that citizenship was obtained fraudulently, such as through sham marriages, concealment of past crimes, or willful misrepresentation. A June 11, 2025, Civil Division memo outlined priorities, including national security threats, war crimes, gang members, undisclosed felonies, human trafficking, and financial fraud.

Recent successes include the March 23 denaturalization of Ukrainian native Vladimir Volgaev, who concealed a firearms smuggling conspiracy and housing fraud before naturalizing in 2016, and Cuban native Mirelys Cabrera Diaz, denaturalized on March 24 for pre-naturalization health care fraud involving over $6 million in false Medicare claims. The department also filed a complaint on March 17 against Lebanese native Alec Nasreddine Kassir for marriage fraud. Attorney General Pamela Bondi emphasized that "American citizenship is a sacred privilege, not a cheap status that can be obtained dishonestly."

Historically, denaturalizations have been rare, with only 305 cases brought between 1990 and 2018. The current approach, involving line prosecutors across the country under Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, could lead to a surge in revocations.