The U.S. Department of Justice recently issued a memorandum instructing federal prosecutors nationwide to actively initiate denaturalization procedures for individuals who have illegally obtained U.S. citizenship, in order to uphold the integrity of the citizenship system and safeguard national security.
This memorandum, signed by Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division, Brett Shumate on June 11, explicitly states that the Civil Division will prioritize enforcement actions related to revoking fraudulently obtained citizenship. The Department of Justice will file lawsuits against individuals who have obtained citizenship through deception, material concealment, or other unlawful means.
According to Section 1451 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the U.S. government has the authority to revoke the citizenship of individuals who obtained it through illegal means. The Department of Justice emphasized that this power not only aids in removing terrorists, war criminals, and serious human rights abusers but also prevents criminals, gang members, and fraudsters from evading accountability through naturalization or using U.S. passports for transnational crimes.
Shumate stressed, “Revoking unlawfully naturalized citizenship is not just a legal action but a key measure in safeguarding national integrity and public safety.”
The Civil Division identified ten priority categories for denaturalization targets, including individuals involved in terrorism, espionage, illegal export of sensitive technology, those committing torture, war crimes, or other human rights abuses, gang members, concealers of serious criminal records, individuals engaged in human trafficking, sexual crimes, or violent crimes, individuals fraudulently obtaining federal subsidies, defrauding private funds, foundations, or businesses, those acquiring citizenship through corruption, falsification, or significant misrepresentation, cases referred by federal prosecutors, and other cases deemed by the Civil Division to have significant legal and societal implications.
The Department of Justice stated that while the above categories serve as enforcement guidelines, they do not restrict the handling of other cases of illegal naturalization and will flexibly allocate personnel and resources based on individual circumstances to ensure the efficiency and fairness of enforcement.
Two days after the publication of the memorandum on June 13, the Department of Justice successfully revoked the citizenship of an unlawfully naturalized individual. The individual, British-born retired military serviceman Elliott Duke, concealed his involvement in child sexual abuse imagery crimes when applying for citizenship, and these crimes occurred before and after his naturalization.
At present, the Department of Justice has not further commented on this memorandum.