Trump Administration Targets Naturalized Americans in Sweeping Citizenship Revocation Drive

The Trump administration is set to significantly expand its efforts to revoke citizenship from some naturalized Americans, sparking concerns among the community. According to a report by The New York Times, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been instructed to provide the Office of Immigration Litigation with 100-200 denaturalization cases per month for the 2026 fiscal year. This unprecedented scale of denaturalization has raised fears among law-abiding Americans, who may be caught up in the drive due to unintentional errors on their citizenship applications. Under US law, denaturalization is only allowed in limited circumstances, such as cases where citizenship was obtained through fraud. A USCIS spokesperson stated that the agency's focus is on pursuing denaturalization proceedings for individuals who lied or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process. The move comes as part of the administration's efforts to tighten the immigration system and restore integrity to the process. The US Census Bureau estimates that there are approximately 26 million naturalized Americans living in the US, with over 800,000 people becoming new citizens last year. The majority of these new citizens were born in Mexico, India, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic, or Vietnam. It's worth noting that in most denaturalization cases, individuals lose their citizenship but revert to legal permanent resident status. The guidance issued by USCIS was part of a broader document outlining the agency's priorities for the 2026 fiscal year, which began in October.