The United States Department of Justice announced on Monday measures to revoke the citizenship of ten naturalized citizens, including the Cuban Yoskmaikel Rodriguez Perez, 45 years old, who is accused of defrauding the Medicare program of more than $886,000 through a fraudulent medical clinic.
Rodriguez Perez obtained permanent residency in 2004 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018, while concealing his involvement in a healthcare fraud scheme and providing false testimony under oath to an official of the Citizenship and Immigration Services.
On June 18, 2026, the government filed a four-count lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida to revoke his citizenship, alleging that it was obtained illegally due to a lack of the good moral character required by law and by concealing material facts during the naturalization process.
Rodriguez Perez pleaded guilty and was sentenced for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and electronic fraud.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche described the ten affected individuals as "criminal foreigners who lied to obtain U.S. citizenship" and warned that the Department of Justice will continue to "aggressively pursue denaturalization to restore the integrity of the naturalization process."
The Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, was more direct: "When you commit fraud during the naturalization process, you forfeit your right to retain your U.S. citizenship."
The case of the Cuban is not isolated. In March 2026, a federal court in Miami revoked the citizenship of Mirelys Cabrera Díaz, a resident of Hialeah, who was sentenced in 2019 to 29 months in prison for participating in a Medicare fraud exceeding six million dollars.
In June of last year, the Department of Justice filed denaturalization actions against 17 immigrants, including two Cuban women: Leidys Delmas Garcia, 54 years old, and Milagros Marileisis Acosta Torres, 40, both convicted of fraud in the healthcare system.
Cuba is among the 19 countries classified as "high risk" that are subject to a massive review of naturalizations beginning in December 2025, along with Venezuela, Somalia, and Haiti.
This campaign was formalized through a memorandum dated June 11, 2025, signed by Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, directing the Civil Division of the Department of Justice to prioritize these proceedings. The denaturalization policy driven by Trump is based on the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows for the revocation of citizenship obtained through concealment of facts or false statements made under oath.
Unlike criminal proceedings, civil denaturalization procedures do not guarantee the right to an attorney and require a lower burden of proof, making them quicker for the government.
The Department of Justice plans to initiate at least 250 denaturalization cases before October 2026. Shumate was emphatic about this: "We have only scratched the surface; many more lawsuits are on the way."
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