DOJ Targets 384 Citizens for Historic Denaturalization Wave

The United States Department of Justice is executing a historic escalation in denaturalization efforts to strip citizenship from individuals who allegedly obtained it through fraud, concealment, or misrepresentation. Under Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the department has identified an initial wave of 384 individuals for revocation. To accelerate these proceedings, the DOJ is shifting the workload from specialized immigration litigators to general prosecutors across 39 regional U.S. attorneys' offices and has established the National Fraud Enforcement Division, effective July 1.

This initiative is part of a broader crackdown by President Donald Trump, who stated in January 2026 that his administration is considering countries of origin as a factor in targeting individuals. The administration has pushed the Department of Homeland Security to refer between 100 and 200 potential cases monthly. Since January 20, 2025, the DOJ reports that 15 people have had their citizenship stripped out of 22 filed cases, with referrals in a single year already surpassing the total from the previous four-year administration.

The government is targeting priority categories including sham marriages, concealed criminal histories, and national security threats. While the DOJ describes the effort as rooting out criminal aliens, critics argue the process may be motivated by racial bias and targets political opponents. Legal experts have warned that the use of civil procedures—which lack the right to counsel and jury trials—may violate constitutional due process.