Trump administration could strip some naturalised Americans of their citizenship: Report

The Trump administration plans to significantly increase denaturalisation of US citizens, targeting fraud, criminal links, and other categories. USCIS guidance sets quotas of 100–200 cases per month, raising concerns over fear, politicisation, and impact on law-abiding naturalised Americans

New York/Washington: The Trump administration is looking at plans to strip some naturalised Americans of their citizenship, the latest in a series of efforts undertaken by President Donald Trump to crack down on immigration.

A report in the New York Times cited new internal guidance issued on Tuesday to US Citizenship and Immigration Services field offices, asking them to “supply Office of Immigration Litigation with 100-200 denaturalisation cases per month” in fiscal year 2026.

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While federal law provides for stripping naturalised Americans of their citizenship if they committed fraud while applying for citizenship or in a handful of other situations, the new guidance “would represent a massive escalation of denaturalisation in the modern era,” said the report.

It added that such a move could impact people who had made honest mistakes on their citizenship paperwork and “sow fear among law-abiding Americans.” The guidance is the latest in a series of measures announced by Trump in his second term in the White House as part of an intensified crackdown on immigration, both illegal and legal.

The NYT report added that there are about 26 million naturalised Americans in the country, citing Census Bureau data. USCIS estimates show that more than 800,000 new citizens were sworn in last year, most of whom were born in Mexico, India, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic or Vietnam.

“It’s no secret that US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ war on fraud includes prioritising those who’ve unlawfully obtained US citizenship — especially under the previous administration,” USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in the NYT report.

“We will pursue denaturalisation proceedings for those individuals lying or misrepresenting themselves during the naturalisation process. We look forward to continuing to work with the Department of Justice to restore integrity to America’s immigration system.” Former agency officials have voiced concern over such a guideline.

“Imposing arbitrary numerical targets on denaturalisation cases risks politicising citizenship revocation,” former USCIS official Sarah Pierce said.

“And requiring monthly quotas that are 10 times higher than the total annual number of denaturalisations in recent years turns a serious and rare tool into a blunt instrument and fuels unnecessary fear and uncertainty for the millions of naturalised Americans.”

The NYT report said the new guidance was part of a document outlining USCIS priorities for the 2026 fiscal year, which began in October and listed goals such as “provide employee feedback opportunities”, “strengthen management of high-risk cases” and “pursue denaturalisation.”

The Justice Department has also said it would make denaturalisation a priority this year. In a memo earlier this year, officials said they would target individuals in an array of categories beyond committing fraud in obtaining citizenship.

“Categories of eligible people include gang members, those who committed financial fraud, individuals connected to drug cartels and violent criminals,” the NYT report said.