Story perspectives

Justice Dept Assigns Regular Prosecutors to 300+ Denaturalizations

4/28/2026

Summary

Story summary

The Justice Department is assigning regular federal prosecutors to denaturalization cases, ending reliance on immigration-litigation specialists.
It is pursuing at least 300 foreign-born naturalized U.S. citizens for possible denaturalization.
The effort proceeds under President Donald Trump and Acting AG Todd Blanche.
USCIS experts are generating 100-200 denaturalization referrals each month, far more than the 102 cases filed in Trump’s first term and the 120 stripped between 2017 and late 2025.

History

Historical Context

In 1996 Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, which broadened denaturalization and made many criminal convictions trigger removal. Under Attorney General Janet Reno the Justice Department revoked more than 1,000 naturalizations between 1996 and 2000, a scale that today’s assignment of regular federal prosecutors to denaturalization directly echoes.

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Story summary

The Justice Department is assigning regular federal prosecutors to denaturalization cases, ending reliance on immigration-litigation specialists.
It is pursuing at least 300 foreign-born naturalized U.S. citizens for possible denaturalization.
The effort proceeds under President Donald Trump and Acting AG Todd Blanche.
USCIS experts are generating 100-200 denaturalization referrals each month, far more than the 102 cases filed in Trump’s first term and the 120 stripped between 2017 and late 2025.

1 / 2