Featured Issue: Threats to Citizenship and Naturalization
The Second Trump Administration has pursued three strategies to restrict U.S. citizenship: ending birthright citizenship, making naturalization harder to obtain, and prioritizing denaturalization.
On his first day in office, President Trump issued an Executive Order attempting to restrict birthright citizenship—a right applied to anyone born on U.S. soil and protected by the 14th Amendment—to only those with a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident parent. Legal challenges block the order, and the Supreme Court will review a case challenging its constitutionality in April with a ruling expected this summer.
The Administration has also made it much harder to become a citizen by canceling naturalization interviews and oath ceremonies, pausing processing for applicants from “high-risk” countries, and changing eligibility requirements, such as requiring resource-draining visits to applicants’ neighborhoods. USCIS officers now apply subjective standards to assess “assimilation” and “allegiance and character,” even though the English and Civics tests and the Oath of Allegiance already objectively measure assimilation and allegiance.
Once naturalized, citizens face increasing threats to their status. The Administration has declared denaturalization a top enforcement priority. Once reserved for extreme cases, criteria for denaturalization have been expanded in ways that raise serious civil liberties concerns, including the potential weaponization of denaturalization against individuals critical of the Administration.
Collectively, these policies represent a direct assault on the foundational principles that define and protect U.S. citizenship.
Browse the Featured Issue: Threats to Citizenship and Naturalization collection
USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 12 – Citizenship and Naturalization, Part L – Revocation of Naturalization
The USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 12, Part L covers revocation of naturalization, including three chapters: (1) Purpose and Background, (2) Grounds for Revocation of Naturalization, and (3) Effects of Revocation of Naturalization.
CA6 Holds That Denaturalized Petitioner Is Not Removable for Crime Committed While a U.S. Citizen
The court held that the petitioner could not be removed under INA §237(a)(2)(E)(i) based on his conviction for a crime of child abuse that occurred while he was a U.S. citizen, even though he was later denaturalized. (Gonzalez Castillo v. Bondi, 6/18/25)
USCIS Policy Alert on Revised Guidance for Form N-648 Submission and Review Process
USCIS updated its policy on how the Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions (Form N-648) is submitted and processed. The form is used by people with disabilities to request an exception to English and civics requirements for naturalization. Changes are effective 6/13/25.
DOJ Memorandum on Civil Division Enforcement Priorities
Assistant AG Shumate sent a memorandum to DOJ Civil Division employees on 6/11/25 setting Civil Division enforcement priorities, which include litigation against sanctuary jurisdictions and denaturalization, among others. The memo outlines categories of priorities for denaturalization cases.
Think Immigration: Birthright Citizenship on the Brink: Takeaways from Trump v. CASA Oral Argument
Brian Green and Jeremy McKinney describe oral arguments in Trump v. CASA, Trump v. Washington, and Trump v. New Jersey, writing “The Administration came to curb what it calls judicial overreach. The Justices instead spent two hours confronting the chaos that would erupt without a nationwide bar.”
USCIS Policy Alert: Recognizing Male and Female Sexes in USCIS Benefit Requests Review and Document Issuance
USCIS issued a policy alert on its updated guidance clarifying that USCIS recognizes the two biological sexes, male or female, for purposes of reviewing benefit requests and USCIS-issued documents. The alert contains background information, policy highlights, and a summary of changes.
Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship
On 1/20/25, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14160 denying citizenship to certain persons, including those born from a mother who was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a U.S. citizen or LPR at the time of said person’s birth. (90 FR 8449, 1/29/25)
Policy Brief: Trump Administration Day One Executive Orders
AILA National provides summaries and analysis of each of President Trump's executive orders that impact the practice of immigration law. For questions, please contact Greg Chen gchen@aila.org or Shev Dalal-Dheini SDalal-Dheini@aila.org.
District Court Temporarily Enjoins Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour issued a temporary restraining order fully enjoining defendants from enforcing or implementing Sections 2(a), 3(a), and 3(b) of President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship. (State of Washington, et. al. v. Donald Trump, et al., 1/23/25)
Think Immigration: Fear Instead of Solutions - Day One Recap
In this blog post, read a recap of the President's Day One actions on immigration and why we need “an orderly and efficient system that serves the nation, recognizes the indispensable economic benefits of migration, reinforces the rule of law, and maintains due process and fairness.”
Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration's Birthright Citizenship Executive Order
Immigrants' rights organizations sued the Trump Administration over its executive order that seeks to strip certain babies born in the United States of their U.S. citizenship. The lawsuit alleges the administration is flouting the Constitution's dictates, congressional intent, and SCOTUS precedent.
AILA Responds to Initial Plans for Executive Orders on Immigration from Trump Administration
AILA President Kelli Stump and ED Ben Johnson respond to today's announced immigration policy changes by President Trump and highlight key concerns with several policies including proposed use of military force, reinstituting Remain in Mexico, and ending birthright citizenship among others.
FindLaw: Can Your U.S. Citizenship Be Revoked?
FindLaw provides an article about denaturalization, including grounds for denaturalization, the denaturalization process, appeals and defenses, and more.
ILRC: Denaturalization and Revocation of Naturalization
ILRC provides a practice advisory that reviews the present state of denaturalization and revocation of citizenship, including the statutes and case law.
DOJ Announces Creation of a Section Dedicated to Denaturalization Cases
DOJ announced creation of the Denaturalization Section, dedicated to investigating and litigating naturalization revocations, within the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation. DOJ claims that increasing referrals anticipated from law enforcement agencies motivated the section’s creation.
ACLU: The Trump Administration’s Plan to Strip Citizenship from Thousands of Americans
ACLU provides an informational sheet about the Trump Administration launching a denaturalization operation in June 2018.
(Un)Civil Denaturalization
This article by Cassandra Burke Robertson and Irina D. Manta, published in the NYU Law Review, argues that stripping Americans of citizenship through the route of civil litigation violates substantive and procedural due process and infringes on the rights guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
Bipartisan Policy Center: Can the Government Revoke Immigrants’ Citizenship?
The Bipartisan Policy Center reports on government denaturalization efforts.
DOJ Files Denaturalization Lawsuit Against Chicago Man Convicted of Providing Material Support to Terrorists
DOJ announced that it filed a lawsuit to denaturalize U.S. citizen Khaleel Ahmed, who naturalized in 2004 and was convicted pursuant to a guilty plea in 2009 of providing material support to terrorists. Ahmed is accused of having misrepresented his criminal conduct during naturalization proceedings.
ICE Announces Federal Courts Denaturalized Five Somali Nationals
ICE announced that federal courts in North Texas and Minnesota denaturalized five Somali nationals, one convicted of engaging in sexual contact with a minor, and the other fraudulently secured a Diversity Immigrant Visa, which concluded a concurrent case against three additional individuals.
DOJ Files Complaint to Denaturalize Diversity Visa Recipient Who Obtained Naturalized Citizenship
DOJ filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Michigan to revoke the naturalization U.S. citizenship of Humayun Kabir Rahman after he failed to disclose two prior orders of removal and became a U.S. citizen in 2004. The case was referred by USCIS and identified as a part of Operation Janus.
Justice Department Secures First Denaturalization As a Result of Operation Janus
As part of Operation Janus, DOJ announced that a judge revoked the naturalized U.S. citizenship and canceling a Certificate of Naturalization for Baljinder Singh. Singh’s immigration status reverted to lawful permanent resident, rendering him potentially subject to removal proceedings.
DOJ Seeks to Denaturalize Four Somalia-Born Individuals Admitted to the United States on Diversity Immigrant Visas
DOJ announced the filing of civil complaints against four individuals who allegedly obtained their naturalized U.S. citizenship by fraudulently representing to immigration officials that they were a family to gain admission to the United States through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.
DHS OIG Report: Individuals with Multiple Identities in Historical Fingerprint Enrollment Records Who Have Received Immigration Benefits
In response to a congressional request, DHS OIG analyzed a USCIS data set of foreign nationals whose fingerprints had been uploaded into IDENT through HFE I. USCIS identified 9,389 foreign nationals as having multiple identities and having received an immigration benefit.
United States Files Denaturalization Complaints Individuals Who Fraudulently Naturalized
The DOJ announced that it filed civil denaturalization complaints in federal court against three individuals who allegedly obtained naturalized U.S. citizenship by fraud by concealing prior orders of exclusion and deportation under different identities than the identity under which they naturalized.