US Government Moves to Strip Citizenship from Naturalized Americans in Controversial New Push
The U.S justice Department has unveiled a sweeping directive that could see the citizenship of thousands — and potentially millions — of naturalized Americans revoked under a newly prioritized civil denaturalization program.
A leaked memo, dated June 11 and first reported by The Guardian, outlines a renewed focus on revoking citizenship from individuals who allegedly obtained it illegally or through deliberate misrepresentation.
Unlike criminal cases, civil denaturalization requires a lower burden of proof and does not guarantee legal representation for the accused — raising serious concerns among civil rights advocates.
With an estimated 25 million naturalized citizens in the U.S., advocacy groups fear the move could pave the way for mass revocations, disproportionately impacting immigrants of color and vulnerable communities.
“This is creating a second class of citizens,” warned Sameera Hafiz of the Immigration Legal Resource Center in an interview with NPR. “It removes core rights and makes it far easier for the government to take away someone’s citizenship.”
The policy shift comes amid growing tension within the Department of Justice’s civil rights division, which has also launched efforts to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and halt gender-affirming treatments.
Just last week, University of Virginia President Jim Ryan resigned under pressure from an ongoing DOJ investigation into the university’s DEI and scholarship practices.
Adding to the turmoil, NPR reports that around 70% of the division’s attorneys — approximately 250 lawyers — have left since January, citing deep concerns about the administration’s changing priorities.
On June 13, a U.S. judge revoked the citizenship of Elliott Duke, a British-born military veteran who was found guilty of distributing child sexual abuse material — a fact he failed to disclose during his naturalization process.
While the Justice Department claims this is about national security and justice, critics argue the current direction threatens civil liberties and opens the door to political abuse.
The denaturalization campaign coincides with a rise in deaths within immigration detention centers. ICE has already recorded 13 in-custody deaths for the 2025 fiscal year — surpassing last year’s total.
At the same time, the DOJ has filed lawsuits against several district attorneys over policies preventing the immediate deportation of migrants challenging their removal orders.
