The Donald Trump administration has issued an internal guidance to the field offices of USCIS, citing a federal law that allows authorities to strip US citizenship from naturalised Americans.
Published: December 19, 2025 5:06 PM IST
US citizenship: In his latest move to crack down on immigration, US President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to strip some naturalised Americans of their citizenship, and has directed the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices to “supply Office of Immigration Litigation with 100-200 denaturalisation cases per month”.
How Trump plans to strip citizenships of naturalised Americans?
According to a New York Times report, Trump administration has issued an internal guidance to the field offices of USCIS, citing a federal law that allows authorities to strip US citizenship from naturalised Americans if they committed fraud while applying for citizenship or in a handful of other situation.
However, Trump admin’s new guidance “would represent a massive escalation of denaturalisation in the modern era”, the NYT report said, adding that Trump’s move could impact American citizens who had made honest mistakes on their citizenship paperwork and “sow fear among law-abiding Americans.”
In a statement, USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said its “war on fraud” will prioritise cracking down on illegally-obtained US citizenships. “It’s no secret that US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ war on fraud includes prioritising those who’ve unlawfully obtained US citizenship — especially under the previous administration,” Tragesser was quoted as saying.
“We will pursue denaturalisation proceedings for those individuals lying or misrepresenting themselves during the naturalisation process. We look forward to continuing to work with the Department of Justice to restore integrity to America’s immigration system,” he said.
Why Trump’s new move could impact Indians?
As per Census Bureau data, about 26 million naturalised Americans reside in the United States, with USCIS estimates showing that over 800,000 new citizens were sworn in last year, most of whom were born in Mexico, India, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic or Vietnam, the report said.
The move is the latest in a series of measures announced by Donald Trump in his second term in the White House as part of an intensified crackdown on immigration, both illegal and legal.
Former officials express concern
Meanwhile former USCIS officials have voiced concern over Trump new guideline, fearing that it could lead to politicising citizenship revocation.
“Imposing arbitrary numerical targets on denaturalisation cases risks politicising citizenship revocation. And requiring monthly quotas that are 10 times higher than the total annual number of denaturalisations in recent years turns a serious and rare tool into a blunt instrument and fuels unnecessary fear and uncertainty for the millions of naturalised Americans,” former USCIS official Sarah Pierce was quoted as saying.
Who are at most risk?
According to the NYT report, the new guidance was part of a document outlining USCIS priorities for the 2026 fiscal year, which began in October and listed goals such as “provide employee feedback opportunities”, “strengthen management of high-risk cases” and “pursue denaturalisation.”
Notably, the US Justice Department has also said it would make denaturalisation a priority this year. In a memo earlier this year, officials said they would target individuals in an array of categories beyond committing fraud in obtaining citizenship.
“Categories of eligible people include gang members, those who committed financial fraud, individuals connected to drug cartels and violent criminals,” the NYT report said.
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