Shibbir Ahmed, Washington DC— The U.S. Department of Justice has launched denaturalization proceedings against 40 naturalized U.S. citizens accused of serious crimes, immigration fraud and other conduct that the government says affected their eligibility for American citizenship.
The cases, filed in federal courts between Aug. 21 and Oct. 2, represent the largest number of denaturalization complaints filed during a single period under the Trump administration, according to the Justice Department.
The department said the cases include allegations involving foreign-government activity, espionage, violent crimes, sexual offenses, tax violations, fraudulent marriages and identity or immigration fraud.
The announcement is part of a broader Justice Department effort to pursue denaturalization in cases where prosecutors allege that citizenship was obtained illegally or through the concealment of material information.
Despite the wording sometimes used to describe the cases, the 40 individuals have not automatically lost their U.S. citizenship. The Justice Department has filed civil actions asking federal courts to revoke their naturalization. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, naturalized citizenship can be revoked if the government establishes that it was illegally obtained or secured through concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation.
The cases remain subject to judicial proceedings. The allegations contained in the complaints are not, by themselves, final findings of wrongdoing. The Justice Department said the 40 cases involve a broad range of alleged offenses.
Among those identified by the department are individuals accused of concealing criminal histories during the naturalization process, using false identities or immigration documents, entering fraudulent marriages and failing to disclose information that prosecutors say was relevant to their eligibility for citizenship. The cases also include allegations involving serious criminal conduct.
One defendant, according to the department, is former U.S. Navy sailor Jinchao Wei, who was convicted of espionage and sentenced to more than 16 years in prison. The Justice Department is seeking his denaturalization based on allegations concerning his conduct and the information allegedly concealed during the citizenship process.
Another case involves Ping Li, whom the department alleges conspired to act as an agent of the Chinese government without notifying the U.S. attorney general. The department says Li was sentenced in 2024. Other cases involve alleged sexual offenses, money laundering, tax evasion, voluntary manslaughter and immigration-related fraud.
The complaints were filed across federal judicial districts throughout the United States. The individuals named in the cases come from numerous countries, including Mexico, Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, Egypt, Nigeria, Iran, Haiti, Nepal, the Philippines, Venezuela, Ghana, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Cambodia, Peru, Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom. One individual’s country of origin was listed as unknown.
The Justice Department said the cases are focused on allegations that the individuals obtained naturalization through unlawful means or concealed information that could have affected their eligibility.
The latest cases follow a series of denaturalization actions announced by the Justice Department during 2026. In August, the department announced 25 denaturalization complaints involving naturalized citizens accused of offenses including attempted murder, assault and sexual crimes against children. The department said at the time that the complaints filed since Jan. 20, 2025, brought its total to 123 civil denaturalization complaints, which it described as the highest number in recorded history.
The latest 40-case filing represents a further expansion of the administration’s use of denaturalization proceedings. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department intends to continue using the process in cases where it believes citizenship was obtained through deception or unlawful conduct.
Denaturalization is a legal process through which the government seeks to cancel the citizenship of a person who became a U.S. citizen through naturalization. It is different from deportation and does not apply to people who are U.S. citizens by birth in the same way. For a naturalized citizen, the government must pursue the matter through the courts and establish the legal grounds for revocation.
The Supreme Court has also emphasized the significance of citizenship and the government’s burden when seeking to revoke naturalization. Consequently, the filing of a complaint is the beginning of a legal proceeding, not a final decision that citizenship has been revoked.
The expansion of denaturalization proceedings has drawn national attention because citizenship is a fundamental legal status carrying important constitutional and statutory rights.
The Justice Department argues that the process is necessary when individuals allegedly obtained citizenship through fraud or by concealing serious misconduct.
Civil liberties and immigration advocates, meanwhile, have raised broader concerns about the government’s increasing use of a rarely invoked legal mechanism. Coverage of the latest filings has characterized the effort as a significant expansion of denaturalization under the Trump administration.
The cases will now proceed through the federal courts, where the government’s allegations can be contested and judges will determine whether the legal requirements for denaturalization have been met.
The 40 defendants will have an opportunity to respond to the government’s allegations in court. If the government successfully proves that an individual’s naturalization was illegally obtained or obtained through material concealment or willful misrepresentation, a federal court may revoke the person’s naturalization.
Until such proceedings are resolved, however, the filing of the cases should not be treated as a final determination that the individuals have lost their citizenship.
The Justice Department’s latest action signals that denaturalization will remain an important part of the administration’s immigration enforcement strategy, with additional cases potentially moving through federal courts in the months ahead.
