Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the Donald Trump government has increased the processes for revoking U.S. citizenship from naturalized individuals suspected of having obtained it through fraud.

During an interview given in Phoenix to CBS News, Blanche stated that the federal government is processing more cases of denaturation ion that in the past nine years and warned that those who have achieved citizenship “in an illegal” way” should be worried.

“If you are going to come to obtain citizenship of this country, but you are going to do it through fraud, in an illegal way, you should worry,” he declared.

Trump expands review of citizenship of naturalized immigrants

When questioned about who the target of this campaign are, Blanche responded that the authorities are not focused on a specific group, although he maintained that there are “many people who are citizens and shouldn't be.

The official avoided specifying how many naturalized citizens could lose their U.S. nationality as a result of this strategy, which is part of a broader plan by the Trump administration to tighten the review of legal immigrants.

Although a large part of the U.S. immigration system depends on the Department of Homeland Security(DHS), it is the Department of Justice to drive processes to revoke U.S. citizenship.

How does the denaturation process work in the US?

The revocation of citizenship requires a complex and rare legal procedure. The Department of Justice must convince federal judges, median te civil or criminal proceedings, where a person obtained citizenship fraudulently, for example, by providing false information in their application.

Federal data show that between 1990 and 2017 there were just more than 300 cases of denaturation, which represents an annual average of 11 cases.

Historically, these procedures have concentrated on cases considered serious, mainly against naturalized citizens accused of human rights violations, violent crimes or threats to national security.

Categories subject to revocation of citizenship

Last year, the Department of Justice issued a memorandum instructing officials to prioritize broader categories for revoking citizenship, including individuals flagged for alleged financial fraud.

In addition, members of the Trump administration publicly supported the increase in denaturalization processes.

The strategy has generated concern among some naturalized citizens in the United States, a population that reached 24 million people in 2023.

Regarding those concerns, Blanche stated not understand “why those who haven't obtained citizenship illegally would be worried”.

“I don't think it's true that those 24 million citizens are worried. I think only a very small percentage of them are. And yes, they should be,” he said.

Todd Blanche defends campaign against immigration fraud

The acting attorney general also said that he doesn't understand why the campaign is controversial.

“We shouldn't tolerate fraud. We shouldn't tolerate lies,” he said.

Blanche added that people subject to a citizenship revocation procedure have legal mechanisms to challenge the decision before federal courts.

Blanche acknowledged that losing US citizenship involves a severe measure, but maintained that obtaining it through fraud also represents a serious misdemeanor.