The Immigration Attorney Willy Allen III explained this Friday the actual cases in which the United States government can revoke American citizenship from naturalized individuals, amid the alarm that has arisen in the Cuban immigrant community due to the announcement of massive reviews by the Trump administration.
The specialist was direct from the start: "There is only one, possibly two reasons why the government can revoke a citizenship. The first is what everyone knows: fraud."
Willy Allen III clarified that immigration fraud encompasses any misrepresentation or forgery committed at any point in the process, from entry into the country to naturalization. "If someone, at any point from the beginning of their immigration process to when they obtained their citizenship, committed fraud to secure that citizenship, they can have their citizenship revoked," he stated.
For the Cuban community, this issue has specific nuances. The lawyer cited concrete examples of fraud, such as the use of manufactured passports from other countries to enter as a Cuban and then revealing Cuban nationality, or the fabrication of a Cuban passport by someone who is not Cuban to benefit from the Adjustment Act.
"If someone is from another country and created a Cuban passport to adjust under the Cuban Adjustment Act: fraud. Fake marriages, fraud," he noted.
One point that the lawyer emphasized is the difference between immigration fraud and other types of fraud. "If someone committed Medicare fraud or something like that, obviously that's a very serious matter, but it's not the same as committing immigration fraud, fraud against the government with the intention of legalizing oneself. That is the type of fraud that is required," he explained.
The second ground for revocation is taking an oath of loyalty to a government or entity that is an enemy of the United States, such as the Islamic State or Iran, or siding with an adversary in an armed conflict against the country. "Citizenship can also be revoked for committing a terrorist act or for renouncing or relinquishing the American government," said the lawyer.
The expert also wanted to contextualize the climate of alarm surrounding this news: "I believe it’s something meant to instill fear and panic in the immigrant community."
The context in which this explanation is provided is one of heightened migratory tension. In April 2026, USCIS announced the review of naturalizations granted during the Biden era, focused on alleged fraud, and the Department of Justice is advancing in the denaturalization of nearly 400 naturalized citizens, described as "the largest volume of denaturalization referrals in history," according to Democracy Now.
By the end of March 2026, the DOJ had achieved 13 denaturalizations and had 16 pending cases in federal courts. Among the cases directly affecting Cubans is that of Mirelys Cabrera Díaz, a resident of Hialeah, whose citizenship was revoked on March 24 for defrauding Medicare of over six million dollars between 2011 and 2014.
Legally, denaturalization is not an automatic process: it is governed by Section 1451 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, requires a lawsuit in federal court with a "clear, unequivocal, and convincing" standard of proof, and can take years, with the facts interpreted in favor of the citizen.
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