Related videos:
The United States Department of Justice is targeting at least 300 foreign-born Americans with the aim of possibly revoking their citizenship, as part of the Trump administration's effort to intensify denaturalization processes, according to a person familiar with the investigations.
An official from the Department of Justice confirmed to NBC News that the number of ongoing cases had risen to "several hundred."
The New York Times was the first to report the figure last Thursday, and NBC News confirmed it on Friday.
Federal prosecutors in regional offices across the country are actively working on this initiative, according to the same official.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security responsible for legal immigration, deployed experts to its national offices and reassigned staff with the goal of generating between 100 and 200 potential cases per month to refer to the Department of Justice, the agency responsible for processing them judicially.
It is not clear why the Department of Justice has specifically targeted these approximately 300 Americans.
The agency had already instructed its attorneys to focus on cases of denaturalization, establishing priority categories: from individuals who pose a risk to national security or have committed war crimes or torture, to those who have committed fraud against Medicaid or Medicare, or who have defrauded the government in other ways.
This campaign is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to drastically restrict immigration.
The direct precedent is the memorandum from Deputy Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, issued on June 11, 2025, which directed the Civil Division of the Department of Justice to prioritize and fully pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law.
Historically, these cases have been very rare. Before Trump's first term, the average was just 16 civil cases per year. During that first term, from 2017 to 2021, the administration filed a total of 102 cases in four years.
In the second term, the escalation is noticeably more aggressive: the goal is to exceed that figure in a single year. Each year, approximately 800,000 people become naturalized as American citizens.
Cuba is among the 19 countries categorized as "high risk" subject to a massive review of naturalizations starting from December 2025, alongside Venezuela, Somalia, and Haiti.
A specific case that has already been executed was the revocation of citizenship for Cuban Mirelys Cabrera Díaz, from Hialeah, on March 24, 2026, who was convicted in 2019 for conspiracy in a Medicare fraud scheme exceeding six million dollars. The former mayor of North Miami, Philippe Bien-Aime, is also facing denaturalization proceedings for allegedly using two identities and lying in immigration interviews.
"The Department of Justice is completely focused on eradicating foreigners with criminal records who defraud the naturalization process," stated a spokesperson for the agency.
"Under the leadership of President Trump and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Department is processing the highest volume of denaturalization referrals in history. We are acting at a breakneck pace to ensure that fraudsters are held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Filed under: