Justice Department Expands Denaturalization Efforts to Target "National Security Risks" and Convicted Felons

Strategic Insights -

The Justice Department has announced a significant expansion of its denaturalization efforts, focusing on individuals who pose a national security risk, have committed violent crimes, are members of gangs, or have committed Medicaid and other types of fraud. The move is sparking concerns among advocates, who accuse the administration of using immigration enforcement for political purposes. The denaturalization process allows the government to revoke the citizenship of individuals who obtained it through fraud, misrepresented or concealed facts on their application, or committed serious crimes before becoming citizens.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Justice Department's Civil Division will prioritize denaturalization cases against individuals who pose a potential danger to national security, commit violent crimes, are gang members or drug cartels, or commit Medicaid and other types of fraud.
  • The denaturalization process involves revoking the citizenship of individuals who obtained it through fraud, misrepresented or concealed facts on their application, or committed serious crimes before becoming citizens.
  • The government can strip a naturalized immigrant of their citizenship through civil proceedings, which can result in the revocation of their citizenship and subsequent deportation.
  • The administration has identified a number of cases where individuals have obtained citizenship under one identity after being ordered deported under another.
  • Critics argue that the administration's public push on denaturalization is stoking fear among naturalized immigrants and creating a chilling effect on those applying for citizenship.
  • The department last month successfully secured the denaturalization of a man who was convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material, despite listing only a speeding ticket on his naturalization application.

Statistics:

  • Between 1990 and 2017, the government filed just over 300 total denaturalization cases.
  • An initiative called Operation Janus expanded those efforts by seeking to identify people who had used different identities to get green cards and citizenship after being issued deportation orders.
  • In 2016, an internal watchdog reported that 315,000 old fingerprint records for immigrants who had been deported or had criminal convictions had not been uploaded to a Department of Homeland Security database.
  • Over 800 immigrants had been ordered deported under one identity but became U.S. citizens under another.

Sources:

  • Washington (AP)
  • A memo from Assistant Attorney General Shumate, head of the Justice Department's Civil Division
  • Testimony from Matthew Hoppock, an attorney who represents people in denaturalization cases
  • A statement from Christopher Wellborn, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • A statement from Elizabeth Taufa, senior policy attorney and strategist at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center
  • A report from an internal watchdog
  • The Justice Department's announcement of the denaturalization of a man convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material.