A sweeping push to expand denaturalisation is unsettling millions of Americans, raising fresh fears that citizenship itself may no longer be permanent as Trump sharpens his immigration crackdown.
A new push by the Trump administration to revoke the citizenship of some Americans has unsettled immigrant communities across the United States.
Internal guidance obtained by The New York Times shows plans to significantly expand denaturalisation efforts ahead of the 2026 fiscal year.
The move, framed by officials as a matter of legal compliance and national integrity, is being interpreted by critics as part of a broader strategy to narrow the definition of who truly belongs in America and to make citizenship itself conditional.
A quiet escalation of denaturalisation
According to the internal guidance, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices have been instructed to supply the Office of Immigration Litigation with between 100 and 200 denaturalisation cases per month in the 2026 fiscal year. That would mark a significant increase from past practice, when such cases were relatively rare and typically limited to individuals accused of serious crimes such as war crimes, terrorism or large-scale fraud.
Denaturalisation allows the government to revoke citizenship from people who obtained it unlawfully or through material misrepresentation. While the legal authority for such actions has long existed, it has historically been used sparingly. The new guidance suggests a more systematic and aggressive approach, raising concerns that routine errors or decades-old omissions in immigration paperwork could now carry life-altering consequences.
Officials have not publicly detailed what types of cases will be prioritised, but the scale alone has alarmed immigration lawyers and advocacy groups. For them, the directive represents a shift from viewing citizenship as a settled status to treating it as a revocable privilege.
Millions affected, uncertainty spreads
The potential implications are vast. There are around 26 million naturalised citizens in the United States, forming a substantial and politically significant segment of the population. In 2024 alone, more than 800,000 people were sworn in as new citizens, with the largest numbers coming from Mexico, India, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic and Vietnam.
For many, naturalisation represents the final step in a long process of integration, often following years or decades as legal permanent residents. The prospect that citizenship could be revisited years later has introduced a new layer of anxiety, particularly among communities that already feel targeted by Trump’s hard-line immigration rhetoric.
While most people stripped of citizenship do not immediately face deportation and instead revert to legal permanent resident status, that downgrade still strips them of fundamental rights. They lose the ability to vote, may face renewed scrutiny from immigration authorities, and become vulnerable to future removal proceedings if they fall out of status or commit certain offences.
Legal experts warn that the process itself can be punishing, even for those who ultimately prevail. Denaturalisation cases are handled in federal court, often requiring extensive documentation and costly legal defence, with outcomes that can hinge on events from decades earlier.
Citizenship as a political fault line
The renewed focus on denaturalisation fits squarely within Trump’s broader immigration agenda, which has consistently emphasised enforcement, restriction and deterrence. During his previous term, the administration created a dedicated denaturalisation task force within the Justice Department, signalling its intent to make citizenship revocation a more visible tool.
Supporters argue that the government has a duty to correct cases where citizenship was improperly granted. But critics counter that the expanded targets outlined in the new guidance risk turning a narrowly tailored legal remedy into a wide-ranging political instrument. They fear it could disproportionately affect immigrants from specific countries or backgrounds, reinforcing perceptions of selective enforcement.
Beyond individual cases, the policy has deeper symbolic weight. Citizenship has long been considered one of the most secure legal statuses in the US system, a promise that once granted, it is permanent. By reopening that promise, the administration risks undermining trust not just among immigrants, but in the stability of American civic identity itself.
As the Trump administration prepares to scale up denaturalisation in the coming year, millions of naturalised Americans are left grappling with a sobering question: if citizenship can be taken away, how secure is it really?
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