The administration of US President Donald Trump has launched a major effort to revoke the citizenship of 40 naturalised Americans accused of obtaining their citizenship illegally or through fraud.
The US Department of Justice described the initiative as the largest denaturalisation campaign in modern American history, as the administration intensifies its immigration enforcement efforts.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, naturalised citizenship can be revoked through a federal court process if the government proves that citizenship was illegally obtained or secured through the concealment of a material fact or deliberate misrepresentation.
While the US Citizenship and Immigration Services can investigate suspected cases of naturalisation fraud, the government generally has to file a civil case in federal court to have citizenship revoked. A federal judge then determines whether the legal requirements for denaturalisation have been met.
The government’s authority is, however, subject to limits established by the US Supreme Court. In its 2017 decision in Maslenjak v. United States, the court ruled that an unlawful act or false statement made during the naturalisation process must have a connection to the acquisition of citizenship before it can support denaturalisation.
According to the Justice Department, the 40 individuals targeted in the latest cases are aged between 26 and 76 and originate from 20 countries. Nine are from Mexico, while four are from Pakistan.
The allegations vary significantly, ranging from immigration and identity fraud to fraudulent marriages, concealed deportation orders and undisclosed criminal records. Some cases also involve allegations of espionage, financial crimes, voluntary manslaughter and offences involving minors.
Among those facing denaturalisation proceedings is Jinchao Wei, a Chinese-born former US Navy sailor who was convicted in 2025 of conspiracy to commit espionage, espionage and illegally exporting technical information connected to defence articles.
Prosecutors allege that Wei began conspiring to provide military secrets to China before becoming a US citizen in May 2022 and concealed the conduct during his naturalisation process. He was sentenced to 200 months in prison.
The Justice Department is also pursuing the citizenship of Nadia Hassan Mohamed Ali, a 58-year-old Egyptian national accused of using fraudulent H-1B petitions to help a family member remain in the United States.
Prosecutors allege that Ali misrepresented her employment history and sponsorship arrangements during her own naturalisation process.
Another case involves Ping Li, who pleaded guilty in 2024 to acting as an agent of the Chinese government without notifying the U.S. Attorney General. The Justice Department said Li worked under the direction of Chinese Ministry of State Security officers to gather information on Chinese dissidents, pro-democracy activists, members of the Falun Gong movement and US-based organisations.
Other individuals named include Ahmad Bahar Khattak, a Pakistani national accused of using multiple identities to avoid deportation before eventually obtaining immigration benefits and citizenship.
Assad Jhon Ramim, an Afghan national, is accused of using another person’s identity in an effort lasting decades to obtain immigration benefits that ultimately led to US citizenship.
The government is also seeking to strip Iain Lumsden, a 50-year-old British national, of his citizenship. Lumsden pleaded guilty in 2021 to a federal child pornography offence and received a nine-year prison sentence. Prosecutors allege that he concealed conduct that began before he became a citizen and made false statements during his naturalisation process.
Announcing the latest cases, Attorney General Todd Blanche said the initiative represented an unprecedented expansion of the government’s denaturalisation efforts.
“Today’s announcement marks the largest denaturalization effort in modern history,” Blanche said in a Justice Department press release.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division added, “Every single one of these individuals lied their way into U.S. citizenship.”
The campaign follows a June 2025 directive from the Justice Department’s Civil Division instructing its attorneys to “prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence.”
The guidance identified alleged fraud or deliberate misrepresentation during the citizenship process, certain criminal conduct, and national security concerns among the grounds that could justify pursuing denaturalisation cases.
The scale of the campaign marks a significant increase from previous administrations. Data cited by the Brennan Center for Justice shows that the federal government initiated an average of about 11 denaturalisation cases each year between 1990 and 2017. During Trump’s first term, the average increased to approximately 25 cases annually.
The number of cases has risen further under the current administration. At least 105 denaturalisation lawsuits were filed during the first seven months of 2026, according to data from TRAC, a nonpartisan research organisation.
That figure is close to the roughly 125 cases recorded by TRAC between 2008 and 2025 combined, even before the Justice Department’s latest 40 cases announced between August 21 and October 2.
