Scoop: Trump escalates citizenship crackdown
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The Trump administration is temporarily moving immigration lawyers to the Justice Department to speed up efforts to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Denaturalization cases have a very high burden of proof, but they're a priority for Trump officials who are searching for fraud in the legal immigration system.
Zoom in: Lawyers at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the office for legal immigration services, are being temporarily transferred to U.S. attorney's offices to work on denaturalization cases, four former agency officials tell Axios.
- One source said staffers were being "volun-told" to move offices. A second source describe the transfers as lawyers "being force volunteered."
- It's not necessary that they have prior trial or denaturalization experience, just that they have an active law license, a third source said.
- "We are proud to support this critical effort by providing the Department of Justice with a team of our most skilled immigration law attorneys," said USCIS Spokesman Zach Kahler.
Between the lines: The Trump administration tried to accelerate the number of denaturalization cases in his first term, creating a dedicated team of 10-15 lawyers. The cases identified by that team are "still kicking around," USCIS chief Joe Edlow said last September.
- "There's a reason why 'denats' have never really taken off," one source said. "It's really hard to prove ... the standard is really high, and you need good evidence. A lot of cases, it's just it's not there."
- The legal burden requires proving "clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence which does not leave the issue in doubt" in civil cases where someone willfully lied on their application.
- In cases where someone illegally got citizenship that they weren't eligible for, there can be criminal charges filed.
The big picture: Justice Department officials have shortlisted 385 people for denaturalization charges, according to a New York Times report from April. In Trump's first term, USCIS claimed to have identified 2,500 potential cases but referred just a fraction to DOJ.
- The Trump administration filed 35 denaturalization cases since the start of the second term, including 12 as recently as this month, according to a DOJ spokesperson.
- A Justice Department memo from June 2025 also listed denaturalizations as a top priority for the Trump administration.
- Outlining the benefit of bringing these cases, the memo says pursuing denaturalization "supports the overall integrity of the naturalization program."
In a statement to Axios, a DOJ spokesperson said it welcomed the assistance from USCIS lawyers "to advance the President's mission to promote public safety and root out fraud."
The bottom line: Increasing the number of denaturalization cases has long been a goal in Edlow's crusade against suspect fraudulent immigration applications.
- "I think it's just as useful to have a decentralized denaturalization process," Edlow said when asked about the denaturalization's unit in Trump's first term last September at an event hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies.
- "If that gives rise to the need for a denaturalization, we're going to move forward. I don't need it specially sent to an office. I want every office using this as a benchmark," he added.
