President Donald Trump
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The landscape of America's citizenship for immigrants has already seen significant alterations in the tenure of former President Donald Trump.
Under his first administration, denaturalization became more commonplace, shifting from a previously rare action primarily reserved for individuals connected to terrorism or criminal activities. Recent executive orders from Trump’s resurgence as a political figure signal a continuation of this trend, raising alarms among immigrant advocates. Trump’s directive allocates considerable resources toward denaturalizing the US citizens whose naturalization may have been "unlawfully procured."
This approach is part of a comprehensive strategy aimed at tightening immigration controls, and it has sparked apprehension within immigrant communities. Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia, has commented on the expansive resources previously committed to denaturalization cases, noting that the efforts instilled widespread fear among naturalized citizens. Though this directive has not garnered as much media attention as other high-profile immigration initiatives such as troop deployments to the southern border and mass deportations, its consequences could be significant.
Immigration attorney Gintare Grigaite reports a noticeable rise in anxiety among her clients including those who are already naturalized, stemming from concerns that even minor discrepancies in their immigration history could lead to denaturalization. During Trump's first term, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions initiated investigations targeting 700,000 naturalized citizens with the intent to bring 1,600 cases to court.
This initiative, which formed part of a broader "zero tolerance" policy that encompassed the prosecution of border violations and family separations, expanded upon a program that began under President Barack Obama. That earlier effort had focused predominantly on those with ties to terrorist organizations or substantial criminal histories. However, the Trump administration’s approach broadened the scope of denaturalization to include trivial errors in immigration records.
Research conducted by Cassandra Burke Robertson, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University, indicates that the administration sought denaturalization based on a wide array of potential grounds, which at times included minor typographical errors or unintentional mistakes. Despite ambitious plans, the administration did not achieve its goal of prosecuting 1,600 cases, with only 168 reaching the courts. The current administration's renewed focus on denaturalization appears to align with recommendations from the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, a conservative initiative.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, advocates for this broader approach as a means of preserving the integrity of the immigration system. Historically, denaturalization has been wielded as a political instrument, notably during the Cold War when the US government targeted immigrants perceived as potential threats. A Supreme Court ruling in 1967 curtailed the government’s ability to revoke citizenship on political grounds, limiting such actions to cases involving fraud or willful misrepresentation.
Leading up to Trump's first term, the US averaged about 11 denaturalization cases annually, focusing on war criminals or individuals guilty of serious atrocities. The substantial rise in denaturalization during Trump's administration and the continuation of these policies under the current administration suggests a lasting transformation in immigration enforcement strategies.