The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is stepping up efforts to revoke the citizenship of foreign-born Americans, significantly expanding a denaturalisation programme as part of a broader push to curb immigration.
Officials at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for legal immigration, have in recent months been reassigned or deployed across field offices nationwide to identify naturalised citizens who could potentially have their citizenship revoked, according to NBC News.
The focus marks a sharp escalation from previous enforcement efforts, which historically targeted only a small number of cases.
What they are saying
According to sources who spoke with NBC News, the administration aims to supply immigration litigation offices with between 100 and 200 potential denaturalisation cases each month.
- By comparison, during Trump’s first term, the Justice Department formally filed just 102 denaturalisation cases over four years, underscoring the scale of the proposed expansion.
- Denaturalisation cases have traditionally been rare and largely limited to individuals found to have concealed serious criminal histories, human rights violations or material facts during their citizenship application process.
- However, the new push is part of a wider DHS strategy to tighten immigration controls, which has also included stepped-up deportation operations, visa revocations and attempts to remove legal residents, including green card holders.
A USCIS spokesperson said the agency maintains a “zero-tolerance policy” toward fraud in the naturalisation process and will pursue denaturalisation proceedings when there is credible evidence of fraud or misrepresentation. The agency said it continues to work with the Department of Justice to protect the integrity of the immigration system.
Justice Department attorneys have reportedly been instructed to prioritise denaturalisation cases, with guidance that includes a broad range of potential targets, from individuals deemed national security risks to those accused of defrauding government programmes such as Medicare or Medicaid. The guidance also allows discretion to pursue “any other cases” considered sufficiently important.
Backstory
In 2025, Nairametrics reported that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was planning major reforms to the naturalization civics test, part of a wider effort to tighten U.S. citizenship standards.
Naturalization is the legal process through which a foreign-born person becomes a U.S. citizen.
New civics test: The 2025 test was designed to more rigorously assess applicants’ knowledge of U.S. history, government, and civic responsibilities, ensuring new citizens understand both the rights and obligations of American citizenship.
Stricter vetting: USCIS has restored robust vetting for all applicants, including closer review of application records and verification that candidates meet statutory requirements.
Good moral character assessment: Officers are instructed to evaluate applicants based on positive contributions to society such as community engagement, steady employment, and family responsibility rather than only the absence of criminal activity.
What you should know
The administration is also seeking to streamline investigations by embedding trained personnel across USCIS’s more than 80 field offices, rather than relying on a centralised unit, a shift officials believe could increase case identification.
The move aligns with Trump’s long-standing views on citizenship and immigration. The president has repeatedly questioned who should qualify as an American and is separately pursuing legal arguments aimed at restricting birthright citizenship, a principle enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and currently under review by the Supreme Court.
Roughly 800,000 immigrants become naturalised U.S. citizens each year, according to DHS. To qualify, applicants must meet requirements including legal permanent residency, English proficiency, knowledge of U.S. civics and proof of “good moral character.”
