The Trump administration is advancing its initiative to revoke the citizenship of specific foreign-born individuals, with reports indicating that officials intend to launch between 100 and 200 denaturalization cases monthly starting in 2026.
A document released in December 2025 instructed the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), part of the Department of Homeland Security, to provide the Office of Immigration Litigation with 100-200 denaturalization cases each month throughout the year.
Execution of these plans is now underway, with experts from the agency visiting field offices across the country and reassigning personnel to revisit past naturalization applications to identify individuals potentially facing denaturalization actions.
Currently, the revocation of citizenship is relatively infrequent. Data from the Brennan Center for Justice indicates that from 1990 to 2017, the annual average for such cases was only 11. According to U.S. law, citizenship can generally be revoked only under specific conditions, such as if it was obtained through deceit or significant misrepresentation during the application process.
Matthew Tragesser, a spokesperson for USCIS, stated that the administration's focus is on cases with credible evidence of fraud.
"We uphold a zero-tolerance stance against fraud in the naturalization process and will pursue denaturalization cases for any individual who misrepresented themselves," Tragesser stated. "We are committed to relentlessly tackling those who compromise the integrity of America's immigration system and collaborating with the Department of Justice to ensure that only those meeting citizenship criteria retain the benefit of U.S. citizenship." He previously characterized this endeavor as part of a larger "war on fraud."
In 2024, an estimated 26 million naturalized U.S. citizens were residing in the country. Over the past decade, the immigration agency has embraced more than 7.9 million new citizens.
A memorandum from the Department of Justice, released in June 2025, indicated that President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi would "prioritize and vigorously pursue denaturalization cases in all instances supported by law and evidence."
Authorities have suggested that action might be initiated against individuals deemed to be national security risks or those suspected of obtaining citizenship via "material misrepresentations."
Nevertheless, immigration lawyers and advocacy organizations have expressed worries that the expanded criteria could lead to a marked increase in denaturalization efforts, potentially impacting a broader population of U.S. citizens than previously seen.
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