The Justice Department plans to file at least 250 denaturalization cases in federal courts across the country in fiscal year 2026, which ends Sept. 30, a Justice Department official said.
The department has already filed several dozen denaturalization cases in recent weeks, the official said, describing an unprecedented use of the federal government's denaturalization powers as part of an aggressive Trump administration campaign to tighten the legal immigration process.
Those targeted for denaturalization are naturalized citizens, an estimated 24 million people, and the department's planned filings would mark an escalation in a process that historically produced relatively few cases; between 1990 and 2017 the U.S. government filed an average of just 11 denaturalization cases per year.
Federal law allows the Justice Department to seek denaturalization when there is evidence someone secured citizenship illegally or through fraud, such as by lying about criminal conduct on their immigration applications, and the process requires prosecutors to convince federal judges to strip someone's citizenship.
Historically, denaturalization was reserved for the most egregious offenders, such as human rights abusers and violent criminals, but last year the Trump administration broadened the categories of cases that the department should prioritize for denaturalization.
People targeted in denaturalization actions can contest the allegations; if the government prevails they lose the benefits of American citizenship, return to their prior immigration status, typically as green card holders, and face deportation to their countries of birth.