US DOJ Seeks Increased Denaturalization Efforts | EUROtoday

The Justice Department is pushing to revoke the citizenship of 384 foreign-born Americans, in response to a New York Times report revealed Thursday.

While it’s not inherently irregular for the DOJ to pursue the denaturalization of people believed to have obtained their citizenship by means of fraud, the division is now calling on prosecutors throughout the nation to “ramp up denaturalizations,” in response to the Times. The effort is a part of President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration crackdown.

The push was introduced throughout a Justice Department assembly final week, in response to the Times, which reported that civil litigators in 39 U.S. legal professional’s workplaces throughout the nation will pursue denaturalization circumstances.

White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson advised Thursday on X that the push was merely about implementing federal legislation.

“Citizenship fraud is a serious crime,” Jackson wrote. “If you break the law, you will be held accountable. After 4 years of Joe Biden, this may be shocking to some.”

It’s unclear why the division is reportedly concentrating on the 384 people.

The Justice Department didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark, however DOJ spokesperson Matthew Tragesser advised the Times that the division was “pursuing the highest volume of denaturalization referrals in history” from the Department of Homeland Security.

“The Department of Justice is laser focused on rooting out criminal aliens defrauding the naturalization process,” he added.

Since Trump started his second time period, his administration has been clear about growing denaturalization circumstances. A June memo listed 10 “priorities” for denaturalization circumstances, together with for individuals who have fraudulently used authorities packages.

Denaturalization circumstances have traditionally been uncommon. From 1990 to 2017, there have been about 11 such circumstances per 12 months. At the tip of Trump’s first time period, the Justice Department created a division devoted to denaturalization circumstances because of the “growing number of referrals anticipated from law enforcement agencies.”