The justice department announced the filing of denaturalization cases targeting 40 naturalized citizens on accusations ranging from acting as foreign government agents to committing violent crimes. The filings were submitted across multiple federal courts between August 21 and October 2, according to department officials.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, federal courts may revoke naturalized citizenship if the government demonstrates it was obtained through concealment of material facts or willful misrepresentation. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that those targeted by the initiative “concealed critical facts from the US government and represent serious criminal offenders.” The justice department characterized the effort as advancing national security and protection of American citizens.
The 40 individuals subject to denaturalization proceedings come from countries including Mexico, China, Iran, Pakistan, and the Philippines. One notable case involves Jinchao Wei, a former Navy sailor born in China who was convicted in August 2025 of espionage and unlawfully exporting defense-related technical data. Prosecutors alleged Wei began planning to sell military secrets to China before obtaining citizenship in May 2022 and concealed this activity during naturalization proceedings. Wei received a sentence exceeding 16 years.
President Trump had previously pushed the justice department to pursue denaturalization cases at scale. The New York Times reported in April that the justice department had identified at least 384 foreign-born citizens whose naturalization it sought to revoke. In 2025, the justice department issued a memo instructing its civil division to intensify denaturalization efforts and expand qualifying categories for such actions. Historically, denaturalization cases have been pursued sporadically due to their cost and resource requirements. Between 2017 and late 2025, approximately 120 people were denaturalized, according to reporting. A justice department official characterized the April initiative as “the first wave” of citizenship-stripping cases.
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