The Justice Department announced on Monday that it had filed 40 new lawsuits seeking to revoke U.S. citizenship from naturalized Americans accused of serious crimes. Federal prosecutors said the cases targeted individuals alleged to have committed offenses such as money laundering, child sexual abuse, visa fraud and tax evasion. Attorney General Todd Blanche described the filings as the largest denaturalization effort in modern history, stating that the department would continue to use the process to protect national security and the American public.

The targeted individuals, drawn from countries including Mexico, Pakistan, China and Sierra Leone, are accused of concealing criminal conduct and other material facts during their citizenship applications. Many of the alleged crimes occurred after they had taken the oath of citizenship. Two of the cases involve accusations of espionage on behalf of China, with prosecutors arguing that the conduct demonstrated a lack of "good moral character" that would have disqualified them from naturalization.

The current wave of filings represents the most aggressive use of denaturalization in a short timeframe under the Trump administration. Historically, the government has reserved the tool for cases involving war crimes or major security threats, such as the post-World War II efforts to denaturalize former Nazis and collaborators. More recent examples include the 1917 denaturalization and deportation of anarchist Emma Goldman.

The administration has framed expanded denaturalization as part of a broader immigration enforcement agenda that includes plans for the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. However, the move has drawn criticism from human rights organizations, which warn that the policy could render individuals stateless and disproportionately target specific communities. Last year, the administration indicated it would pursue denaturalization against Somali Americans in Minnesota amid fraud allegations involving the local diaspora.

Political rhetoric around the issue has been contentious. Former President Trump has repeatedly suggested revoking citizenship from individuals he has described as political adversaries, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was born in Uganda, and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, with whom he had a public dispute in 2025. Trump has also advocated ending birthright citizenship, a constitutional guarantee for nearly all children born on U.S. soil, though the Supreme Court struck down his initial executive order on the matter in June. Legal challenges to subsequent attempts to restrict birthright citizenship remain ongoing.