Trump Administration Restricts Legal Immigration and Targets Naturalized Citizens

The Donald Trump administration has launched a comprehensive campaign to restrict legal immigration and remove citizenship from naturalized residents. Central to this effort is a May 2026 policy memorandum from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that effectively ends the 50-year practice of allowing temporary visa holders—including students and H-1B workers—to apply for green cards while remaining in the U.S. Most applicants must now return to their home countries for consular processing, a move USCIS describes as a return to the original intent of the law.

Parallel to these restrictions, the administration is accelerating denaturalization efforts. USCIS is transferring specialized immigration lawyers to the Department of Justice to expedite cases of immigration fraud and material misrepresentation. The agency has been instructed to recommend 100 to 200 denaturalization cases per month in 2026, a sharp increase over previous years. Additionally, the administration has paused a 50,000-visa lottery program, halted long-term immigrant visas from 75 countries, and is pursuing executive action to end birthright citizenship.

Critics, including Democratic lawmakers and the CATO Institute, argue these policies will separate families and harm U.S. business competitiveness. Specifically, advocates for Afghan allies warn that the requirement to apply from home is impossible for those in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where no consular services exist. White House officials defend the agenda as a common-sense measure to protect American jobs and prevent the exploitation of the immigration system.