Story perspectives

Trump DOJ Revives Red Scare, Denaturalizes 100-200 Monthly

4/26/2026

Summary

Story summary

The Justice Department announced a 2026 plan to denaturalize 100-200 naturalized citizens each month, aiming to break historic Red Scare records.
President Donald Trump’s administration is targeting hundreds of naturalized citizens for denaturalization in 2026, reviving McCarthy-era practices that once stripped citizenship for alleged subversive ties.
Proposed MAMDANI Act would deny visas and citizenship to Muslims and self-identified socialists, challenging the Afroyim v. Rusk (1967) precedent.

History

Historical Context

During the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Red Scare spurred the 1950 Internal Security Act and the 1952 McCarran–Walter Immigration and Nationality Act, which allowed revocation of citizenship for subversives and excluded tens of thousands of displaced persons (e.g., 54,000 Germans by March 1 1951). In 2026 the Justice Department’s plan to denaturalize 100–200 people monthly echoes those Cold-War precedents.

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Story summary

The Justice Department announced a 2026 plan to denaturalize 100-200 naturalized citizens each month, aiming to break historic Red Scare records.
President Donald Trump’s administration is targeting hundreds of naturalized citizens for denaturalization in 2026, reviving McCarthy-era practices that once stripped citizenship for alleged subversive ties.
Proposed MAMDANI Act would deny visas and citizenship to Muslims and self-identified socialists, challenging the Afroyim v. Rusk (1967) precedent.

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