The administration has filed 22 denaturalization cases during Trump’s second term.
Under President Donald Trump, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has made denaturalization—the process of revoking U.S. citizenship—of criminal immigrants a priority, and has already brought more than 20 cases on the issue.
Denaturalization cases generally target individuals accused of fraud in the naturalization process or serious criminal conduct that could invalidate citizenship.
The issue drew national attention this month when a naturalized UK-born citizen with a criminal history was the suspect in the killing of three people in the Atlanta area, prompting political calls for stricter enforcement.
Here’s a breakdown of the administration’s efforts and how denaturalization works.
Renewed Efforts Under Trump
The Trump administration has filed 22 denaturalization cases so far in his second term, according to data from the DOJ. If his first term is any indication, there will be many more.
From 2017 to 2021, there were 102 denaturalization cases filed. By contrast, the Biden administration filed 24 cases from 2021 through 2025.
A June 2025 memo from the DOJ prioritized investigations and enforcement actions advancing denaturalization. The memo said it may pursue civil denaturalization when citizenship was illegally obtained or secured through fraud or willful misrepresentation under federal law.
It also directed the Civil Division to prioritize and aggressively pursue cases supported by evidence, particularly those involving national security threats, terrorism, war crimes, gang activity, undisclosed felonies, violent offenses, human trafficking, and financial fraud.
Officials said the effort was intended to remove individuals who posed risks to public safety and to protect the integrity of the naturalization system by ensuring those who obtained citizenship unlawfully did not retain its benefits.
Most recently, the DOJ said on April 24 that it filed a denaturalization action against Hassan Sherjil Khan, a native of Pakistan. Khan allegedly started communicating online with an 11-year-old girl in 2007 or 2008 and coerced her into sending him sexually explicit images of herself. Khan allegedly engaged in sexual acts with her when she was 15.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the DOJ’s Civil Division said that “naturalization and U.S. citizenship will not protect sexual predators from the consequences of their horrific acts.”
“If you fail to disclose serious crimes while seeking naturalization, the government will discover your lies and revoke your ill-gotten U.S. citizenship,” he said.
Earlier this year, the department denaturalized a man who, during his naturalization process, did not disclose that he was convicted of sexually assaulting a child. In March, it also denaturalized Vladimir Volgaev, a native of Ukraine who was convicted of smuggling goods and theft of government money in 2020, four years after he had been naturalized.
Denaturalization Process
The Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank, said last year that there were 24.5 million naturalized citizens in the United States.
Denaturalization, or revocation of U.S. citizenship, is a legal process handled through federal courts.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the government must prove that citizenship was either illegally obtained or secured through fraud or willful misrepresentation.
Cases are typically brought by the DOJ in civil court, where the standard of proof is “clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence.”
In criminal cases tied to fraud, the burden rises to beyond a reasonable doubt. If the government is successful, citizenship is revoked, and the individual may face removal proceedings.
It is not easy to strip naturalized Americans of their citizenship, according to Faiza Patel, senior director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program, and Margy O’Herron, a senior fellow at the Brennan Center.
“The law imposes a high bar, and the Supreme Court has been particularly vigilant in cases where a person’s political beliefs may be driving the effort,” they wrote in October 2025.
Stephen Yale-Loehr, a retired immigration law professor at Cornell University, said the standard for denaturalization was high, so not all people charged would actually be denaturalized.
Congressional Response
The issue has garnered political attention, particularly as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused Olaoluwakitan Adon Abel, a 26-year-old born in the UK, of murdering DHS employee Lauren Bullis on April 13. He was also accused of murdering two others in the same shooting spree. He was later found dead in his jail cell.
The department underscored how Abel was naturalized during the Biden administration in 2022.
“The murder of Lauren Bullis is exactly why we need to expand denaturalization,” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said in a post on X on April 15.
After noting Abel was naturalized under former President Joe Biden, he called on Congress to “expand denaturalization or this will keep happening.”
More specifically, he called on Congress to pass his legislation known as the SCAM Act.
Schmitt’s SCAM Act, introduced in the Senate in January, has not advanced to conference. A companion bill in the House was introduced by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.).
The proposed legislation would expand grounds for beginning the denaturalization process. It would include committing an act as part of a substantial fraud against a federal, state, or local government welfare or assistance program; affiliating with a designated foreign terrorist organization; and committing an act as part of an aggravated felony or espionage.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, criticized the attempt to blame Biden.
On X, he said: “The accused killer is a British immigrant and naturalized citizen who came here legally at some point before 2018. The idea that the president at the time a person becomes a citizen is forever responsible for any crimes that person commits in the future is appallingly dishonest.”
By Tom Gantert
