President Donald Trump is once again pushing the boundaries of US immigration policy, this time by openly threatening to strip naturalized Americans of their citizenship. Since returning to the White House, Trump has intensified his immigration crackdown and begun questioning the status of foreign-born citizens, sparking widespread concern over the potential weaponization of denaturalization.
The president has placed particular focus on Minnesota following investigations into fraud involving government funded programs. Trump has used the scandal to target the state’s Somali community, accusing them of “destroying” Minnesota after some individuals of Somali descent were found guilty of involvement in the schemes. Critics say he has unfairly blamed the wider community rather than the specific individuals responsible.
- Advertisement -
Speaking to the New York Times this week, Trump confirmed his administration is exploring ways to revoke citizenship from naturalized Americans.
“I would do it in a heartbeat if they were dishonest,” he said. “I think that many of the people that came in from Somalia, they hate our country.”
Trump did not specify which groups could be targeted or what criteria would be used to determine eligibility for denaturalization. He also did not clarify whether his remarks referred to existing legal standards or a proposed expansion of executive authority.
Immigration attorney Eryn Hanlon, a partner at Greenwood Hanlon Kendrick, said strict legal requirements must be met before citizenship can be revoked.
“The administration would have to prove that the person committed fraud or lied during their naturalization process,” Hanlon explained. “That could include entering into a fake marriage, hiding a felony or serious crime, or using a false identity.”
TIME magazine has reached out to the White House for comment.
This is not the first time Trump and his administration have raised the issue of denaturalization. In December, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was reviewing the citizenship of people of Somali descent convicted in the Minnesota fraud cases. Trump previously echoed similar sentiments, telling supporters to “send them back to where they came from.”
The president has also made personal threats against political opponents. He twice suggested revoking the citizenship of New York born comedian Rosie O’Donnell, who moved to Ireland following Trump’s 2024 election victory. O’Donnell publicly rejected his remarks.
Trump has focused most aggressively on foreign born Americans. He previously questioned the citizenship of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and became a US citizen in 2018. In December, he attacked Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia and naturalized as a teenager. During a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump told the crowd, “We ought to get her the hell out,” prompting chants of “send her back.”
If Trump follows through on these threats, it would mark a significant escalation of his immigration agenda. During the campaign, he pledged mass deportations. In November, he terminated Temporary Protected Status for Somalis in Minnesota. After a fatal shooting in Washington DC involving an Afghan national, Trump ordered a review of green card admissions from 19 countries, including Somalia. That list was later expanded to 39 nations.
Internal documents obtained by the New York Times also revealed that the administration has pushed for monthly denaturalization quotas. US Citizenship and Immigration Services offices were reportedly instructed to submit between 100 and 200 cases per month to the Office of Immigration Litigation. This represents a dramatic increase from historical levels. Between 1990 and 2017, only 305 cases were filed, averaging about 11 per year. During Trump’s first term, the number rose to an average of 42 annually.
Smita Dazzo, deputy legal lead at HIAS, an organization that assists refugees and asylum seekers, said meeting such a quota would be extremely difficult.
“It is very unlikely this could happen at the scale the administration wants without being challenged in court,” she said, noting that denaturalization cases must pass through federal judges.
Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey condemned the reported policy.
“This is xenophobia disguised as policy,” Markey said. “It is cruel to revoke the citizenship of Americans who have lived here for years. All citizens deserve full constitutional protections, regardless of where they were born.”
According to USCIS, citizenship can only be revoked if a person deliberately misrepresented or concealed material facts during their naturalization process. Legal experts emphasize that denaturalization is rare because applicants already undergo extensive vetting.
Dazzo said she has never seen a client lose their citizenship in her 16 years of practice.
“Denaturalization is not a punishment for committing crimes,” she said. “It only applies if fraud occurred before citizenship was granted.”
Hanlon agreed.
“It must involve deception in obtaining citizenship, not crimes committed afterward,” she said.
Naturalized citizens may also lose their status if they join extremist organizations within five years of being sworn in, but such cases require substantial evidence.
Legal experts warn the administration could search old applications for minor errors and attempt to portray them as fraud.
“They might find small mistakes and argue they were intentional,” Dazzo said. “Even a typo could be twisted into a material misrepresentation.”
Hanlon echoed the concern.
“If someone accidentally entered the wrong birth date, could that be framed as fraud,” she asked.
The implications extend beyond citizenship loss. Once denaturalized, a person reverts to permanent resident status, making them vulnerable to deportation.
“US citizens cannot be deported,” Dazzo explained. “But green card holders can be. That makes this extremely dangerous.”
Civil rights groups warn that Trump’s rhetoric and policy proposals threaten to undermine long standing legal protections and could set a dangerous precedent, potentially reshaping the meaning of American citizenship itself.
