The Immigration Attorney Willy Allen III explained this Friday the real cases in which the United States Government can revoke American citizenship from naturalized individuals, amid the alarm that has been generated in the Cuban immigrant community by the announcement of massive reviews by the Trump administration.
The specialist was straightforward from the start: "There is only one, possibly two reasons why the government can revoke citizenship. The first is what everyone knows: fraud."
Willy Allen III clarified that immigration fraud encompasses any misrepresentation or falsification committed at any point in the process, from entry into the country to naturalization. "If someone at any time, from the beginning of their immigration process to when they obtained their citizenship, committed fraud to gain that citizenship, they can have their citizenship revoked," he stated.
For the Cuban community, the issue has specific facets. The lawyer cited concrete examples of fraud, such as the use of fabricated passports from third countries to enter as a Cuban and then reveal Cuban nationality, or the creation of a Cuban passport by someone who is not Cuban to benefit from the Adjustment Act.
"If someone is from another country and fabricated 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, which is fraud against the government with the intent to obtain legal status. That's the type of fraud that is required," he explained.
The second cause for revocation is swearing allegiance to a government or entity that is an enemy of the United States, such as the Islamic State or Iran, or taking the side of an adversary in an armed conflict against the country. "Citizenship can also be revoked for committing a terrorist act or 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 is something to instill fear and panic in the immigrant community."
The context in which this explanation occurs is one of high 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 case 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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