Why American Citizenship May Be Revoked

The U.S. government's crackdown on immigrants is taking a new turn. It is no longer just targeting undocumented migrants—now even naturalized citizens, who obtained their citizenship through legal processes, are under scrutiny.

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued directives to strengthen "denaturalization" procedures—meaning that even citizens can now lose their citizenship for being linked to crimes, hiding information, or even making minor errors in documents during the naturalization process. This has sparked deep concern among immigration experts and advocates.

Further inflaming those concerns, recent comments by President Donald Trump about Elon Musk and New York Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani have intensified fears about politically motivated denaturalization.

Immigration attorneys say these actions are unprecedented in U.S. history. On one side, the Justice Department is actively pursuing denaturalization cases.
On the other, even people who felt secure are now living in fear due to the president’s rhetoric.

According to an ABC News report citing an internal government memo, the Department of Justice is ramping up efforts to revoke citizenships through denaturalization.

The memo, signed by Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, says that legal proceedings can be initiated to strip citizenship from individuals involved in crimes such as threats to national security, human trafficking, or war crimes.

However, it goes even further. The memo states that cases involving misrepresentation, document errors, or procedural mistakes during the naturalization process may also be pursued. In other words, even minor administrative faults can now be grounds for revoking citizenship.

The memo outlines four new priorities for the Justice Department:

• Combatting antisemitism
• Legal action against sanctuary cities and states
• Enforcing denaturalization when necessary
• Fully implementing the administration’s immigration policies

According to immigration experts, many individuals who became U.S. citizens through asylum or immigration benefits—and are now viewed as opposing U.S. interests or critical of the Trump administration—are having their naturalization cases reexamined. If any flaw is found, authorities may move to revoke their citizenship.

Following criticism from Elon Musk—Trump’s former advisor—about the controversial “Big Beautiful Bill,” the president told reporters, “We’ll look into it.”

The next day, referring to mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, Trump said, “Some say he’s here illegally. We’re looking into everything.”

In response, Mamdani said, “I haven’t broken any law. Yet I’m being threatened with citizenship revocation.”

From 1990 to 2017, the U.S. averaged only 11 denaturalization cases per year. But in 2018 alone, the Trump administration ordered 1,600 cases to be investigated.

Analysts warn that this approach undermines the core of American constitutional rights. If political disagreement becomes grounds for state retaliation against legal citizens, the threat extends beyond immigration—it strikes at the heart of democracy and justice.