The Trump administration has formalised its efforts to revoke US citizenship from certain naturalised Americans through a newly released Justice Department memo, which directs attorneys to prioritise denaturalisation proceedings for individuals convicted of specific crimes.
Published on June 11, the memo instructs department attorneys to initiate civil proceedings to strip individuals of their US citizenship if it was “illegally procured” or obtained through “concealment of a material fact or by wilful misrepresentation”.
The new denaturalisation focus has already had consequences. On June 13, a judge revoked the citizenship of Elliott Duke, a US military veteran originally from the UK, who had failed to disclose a conviction for distributing child sexual abuse material during his naturalisation process.
At the centre of this directive are the approximately 25 million naturalised US citizens—those born abroad who later immigrated—according to 2023 data. The memo outlines ten priority categories for denaturalisation.
Notably, individuals subjected to such civil proceedings are not entitled to legal representation, unlike in criminal cases. Furthermore, the government faces a lower burden of proof in civil cases.
The memo states that denaturalisation efforts will target those involved in war crimes, extrajudicial killings, or other serious human rights abuses, as well as naturalised criminals, gang members, and individuals convicted of crimes deemed to pose an ongoing threat to the United States.
Justice Department attorneys have also been granted broader discretion to pursue denaturalisation in cases involving false statements on immigration forms, financial or medical fraud against the US or private individuals, and referrals from US attorneys or related to pending criminal charges.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has increasingly been positioned at the forefront of the administration’s broader policy agenda. This includes dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within government and halting gender-affirming medical treatments, among other actions.
Meanwhile, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency has recorded its 13th in-custody death for the current fiscal year, which began in October 2024—already surpassing the total of 12 deaths reported during the entire previous fiscal year.
In a rare move, the department also filed suit against 15 US district attorneys in Maryland over an order preventing the immediate deportation of migrants contesting removal.
Reports suggest growing internal turmoil within the Civil Rights Division, as its historic mission to combat racial discrimination is being reshaped by executive directives. According to National Public Radio (NPR), approximately 250 attorneys—around 70 per cent of the division’s legal staff—have resigned between January and the end of May.
