Story perspectives

Trump Admin Seeks Denaturalization of Al-Shabaab Recruit Under 1952 Law

6/18/2026

Summary

Story summary

The Trump administration is using a invoked 1952 McCarthy-era statute to revoke citizenship of naturalized Americans.
Attorney Daniel Gerdts says Salah Osman Ahmed, naturalized, faces denaturalization in Minneapolis for traveling to Somalia to join al-Shabaab, but there is no legal basis and the move is shameful.
Legal scholars warn the law may violate Court First Amendment precedent and could be unconstitutional, tying the effort to President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.

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Story summary

The Trump administration is using a invoked 1952 McCarthy-era statute to revoke citizenship of naturalized Americans.
Attorney Daniel Gerdts says Salah Osman Ahmed, naturalized, faces denaturalization in Minneapolis for traveling to Somalia to join al-Shabaab, but there is no legal basis and the move is shameful.
Legal scholars warn the law may violate Court First Amendment precedent and could be unconstitutional, tying the effort to President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.