…as US Government Directs Federal Attorneys to Prioritize Revoke of Citizenship.
The iNews Times reports that the United States Department of Justice has issued a memo directing federal attorneys to prioritize denaturalization proceedings for individuals who committed specific crimes or misrepresented information during their naturalization process.
The memo, dated June 11, 2025, calls for civil proceedings against individuals who “illegally procured” their naturalization or obtained it through “concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation”.
The iNews Times reports that the memo outlines several priority categories for denaturalization, including individuals with ties to terrorism, espionage, or unlawful export of sensitive US technologies, human rights violators, affiliates of transnational criminal organizations, gangs, or drug cartels, and those convicted of serious crimes such as human trafficking, sex offenses, or violent crimes.
Immigration attorneys have however expressed concerns that denaturalization cases via civil litigation strip individuals of certain rights, including the right to an attorney, and lower the threshold of proof.
Sameera Hafiz, policy director of the Immigration Legal Resource Center, notes that this policy may create a “second class of US citizens”.
The policy has sparked fears among immigrant communities, potentially discouraging eligible individuals from applying for citizenship.
A recent case illustrates the implementation of this policy. On June 13, 2025, a federal judge revoked the citizenship of Elliott Duke, a US military veteran from the UK, who was convicted of distributing child sexual abuse material and failed to disclose the crime during the naturalization process.
This case demonstrates the government’s focus on serious criminal conduct.
The estimated 25 million US citizens who immigrated to the country after being born abroad may be affected by this policy.
The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has been reshaped to prioritize denaturalization and other Trump administration objectives, leading to concerns about its traditional mission to combat racial discrimination.
Approximately 250 attorneys, or 70% of the division’s lawyers, have reportedly left the department since January, The iNews Times reports.
