Trump administration orders more foreign-born Americans to be stripped of citizenship over fraud: NYT

The Trump administration is taking aim at some naturalized Americans who committed fraud, according to a New York Times report.

The report says new guidance was sent to the field offices of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Tuesday ordering them to "supply Office of Immigration Litigation with 100-200 denaturalization cases per month." The report says that in the last eight years, only about 120 such cases have been filed.

'I don't think we're anywhere close to denaturalizing too many people.'

Legally, naturalized immigrants can have their citizenship taken away if they commit fraud, though the report suggests that the Trump administration could clamp down on other cases that include applicants making mistakes on their paperwork.

"It's no secret that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' war on fraud includes prioritizing those who've unlawfully obtained U.S. citizenship — especially under the previous administration," said USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser, according to the Times.

"We will pursue denaturalization proceedings for those individuals lying or misrepresenting themselves during the naturalization process," he added. "We look forward to continuing to work with the Department of Justice to restore integrity to America's immigration system."

Amanda Baran, a former USCIS senior official in the Biden administration, criticized the order.

"The Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that citizenship and naturalization are too precious and fundamental to our democracy for the government to take it away on their whim," she said. "Instead of wasting resources digging through Americans' files, USCIS should do its job of processing applications, as Congress mandated."

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Others who support further restrictions on immigration say the order isn't enough.

"I don't think we're anywhere close to denaturalizing too many people," said Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies.

About 800,000 people are naturalized every year, according to the report. Those who have their citizenship stripped usually become permanent legal residents.

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