The US Justice Department has filed denaturalisation cases against 40 naturalised citizens between August 21 and October 2.
The cases involve allegations including concealed criminal histories, immigration and identity fraud, espionage-related conduct and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.
The filings do not automatically strip citizenship.
The US Justice Department has filed denaturalisation cases against 40 naturalised US citizens accused of concealing criminal histories or other material information during the immigration process, the largest single-period filing under the Trump administration.
The cases were filed between August 21 and October 2 across multiple federal district courts. The DOJ said the individuals include people convicted of offences ranging from espionage and voluntary manslaughter to sexual offences against minors. However, the cases also include people whose denaturalisation proceedings are based primarily on alleged immigration or naturalisation fraud.
Denaturalisation does not automatically strip someone of citizenship. The Justice Department must establish in federal court that citizenship was illegally obtained or was procured through concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation. The DOJ itself said the claims in the complaints are allegations and that there has been no determination of liability.
Attorney General Todd Blanche described the move as the “largest denaturalisation effort in modern history”, saying the cases include an individual convicted of espionage and others convicted of sexual offences against minors.
Who Faces Denaturalisation?
The 40 people named by the DOJ come from several countries, with Mexico accounting for the largest number. They range in age from 26 to 76.
Among those listed is Jinchao Wei, 26, a China-born former US Navy sailor who was convicted of espionage-related offences. The DOJ said Wei concealed his criminal conduct while obtaining citizenship through a provision intended to expedite naturalisation for members of the armed forces. He was sentenced to 200 months in prison in 2025.
Another case involves Raul Cisneros, 76, a Mexican national whom the DOJ accuses of concealing prior sexual misconduct against a minor during his naturalisation process. He later pleaded guilty to two felony counts and was sentenced to six years in prison, according to the department.
The cases also include people accused of aggravated sodomy, sexual abuse of a minor, fraud, identity fraud, tax evasion, fraudulent marriages and acting as agents of foreign governments.
Not all of the cases involve violent or sexual offences. Several centre on alleged false statements, undisclosed criminal histories, fraudulent identities or other information that the government says should have prevented the individuals from obtaining citizenship.
One such defendant, Walid Osman, has denied the allegations. His lawyer Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg told USA TODAY that the DOJ's filing contained errors and speculation and said Osman would contest the case in court.
Denaturalisation Drive Expands
The latest filings come after a sharp increase in denaturalisation litigation under the Trump administration.
In August, the DOJ announced 25 denaturalisation complaints filed between July 20 and August 3, describing them at the time as the largest coordinated effort in department history. It said that since January 20, 2025, it had filed 123 civil denaturalisation complaints.
Research by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University found that denaturalisation lawsuits had already risen sharply in May and June. TRAC identified 166 civil denaturalisation complaints filed between January 2008 and June 12, 2026, compared with a historical average of fewer than one case a month.
TRAC said the grounds for such cases have varied, including false identities, immigration fraud and undisclosed criminal conduct. It has also warned that the expansion of denaturalisation enforcement warrants scrutiny because court complaints in many cases are difficult to obtain publicly.
Under US law, denaturalisation proceedings generally target people who became citizens through fraud, concealment of material facts or willful misrepresentation. The government must pursue the revocation through the courts rather than simply cancelling a person's citizenship administratively.
