You earned your citizenship. You passed the test. You took the oath. Now, the Trump administration wants to take it all back — and it is transferring lawyers across the government to make it happen.
The Trump administration is escalating its crackdown on citizenship, ramping up denaturalization cases against naturalized Americans accused of fraud in the legal immigration system. Lawyers at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the office for legal immigration services, are being temporarily transferred to U.S. attorneys’ offices to work on these cases, four former agency officials told Axios.
One source described the transfers as staffers being “volun-told” to move offices. A second source said lawyers were “being forced to volunteer.” It is not necessary that they have prior trial or denaturalization experience, a third source said, just that they have an active law license.
The Legal Hurdle
Denaturalization cases have a very high burden of proof. The legal standard requires proving “clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence which does not leave the issue in doubt” in civil cases where someone willfully lied on their application. In criminal cases where someone illegally obtained citizenship they were not eligible for, charges can be filed.
“There’s a reason why ‘denats’ have never really taken off,” one source told Axios. “It’s really hard to prove. The standard is really high, and you need good evidence. A lot of cases, it’s just not there.”
That has not stopped the administration from trying. The Trump administration has filed 35 denaturalization cases since the start of the second term, including 12 as recently as this month, according to a Department of Justice spokesperson.
A Justice Department memo from June 2025 listed denaturalizations as a top priority, arguing that pursuing such cases “supports the overall integrity of the naturalization program.”
The Numbers Game
The Trump administration tried to accelerate the number of denaturalization cases in his first term, creating a dedicated team of 10 to 15 lawyers. The cases identified by that team are “still kicking around,” USCIS chief Joe Edlow said last September.
Justice Department officials have shortlisted 385 people for denaturalization charges, according to a New York Times report from April. In Trump’s first term, USCIS claimed to have identified 2,500 potential cases but referred just a fraction to the DOJ.
The gap between identified cases and actual charges is telling. Identifying potential fraud is one thing. Proving it beyond a reasonable doubt — or even by the high civil standard — is another.
The Decentralized Approach
USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler defended the transfer of lawyers, saying: “We are proud to support this critical effort by providing the Department of Justice with a team of our most skilled immigration law attorneys.”
Edlow, who has long crusaded against what he sees as fraudulent immigration applications, explained his philosophy last September at an event hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies.
“I think it’s just as useful to have a decentralized denaturalization process,” Edlow said. “If that gives rise to the need for a denaturalization, we’re going to move forward. I don’t need it specially sent to an office. I want every office using this as a benchmark.”
In a statement to Axios, a DOJ spokesperson said it welcomed the assistance from USCIS lawyers “to advance the President’s mission to promote public safety and root out fraud.”
The Bottom Line
The Trump administration is escalating denaturalization efforts by temporarily transferring USCIS lawyers to U.S. attorneys’ offices to work on cases targeting naturalized citizens accused of immigration fraud. The lawyers do not need prior trial or denaturalization experience — only an active law license. The administration has filed 35 denaturalization cases since the start of the second term, including 12 in May 2026.
The legal burden of proof is high, requiring “clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence” in civil cases. Justice Department officials have shortlisted 385 people for potential charges. In Trump’s first term, USCIS identified 2,500 potential cases but referred only a fraction to prosecutors.
The administration’s goal is to “root out fraud” and protect the “integrity of the naturalization program.” But critics argue that denaturalization cases are notoriously difficult to prove — and that transferring inexperienced lawyers into trial roles may not change that reality.
For naturalized citizens, the news is unsettling because it’s basically saying that your citizenship is not as permanent as you thought.
