The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a record 25 denaturalization cases since July 20 as it continues its crackdown on alleged fraudsters, terrorists, and criminals who have exploited the U.S. immigration system.
The defendants are accused of hiding or lying about details during the naturalization process or committing various crimes that should have made them ineligible to become U.S. citizens, DOJ officials said.
The Trump administration pushed to revoke citizenship from criminals and those found guilty of fraud in the wake of several violent attacks by naturalized citizens.
Since Jan. 20, 2025, the Justice Department has filed 123 civil denaturalization complaints, the most in recorded history, DOJ officials said.
“U.S. citizenship is one of our nation’s highest privileges, and it must be obtained lawfully and honestly,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
DOJ officials have said it’s an effort “to restore integrity to America’s naturalization process.” In a post shared on X, the DOJ said the latest cases “mark LARGEST denaturalization effort ever.”
🚨25 complaints filed since July 20, 2026, mark LARGEST denaturalization effort ever
“U.S. citizenship is one of our nation's highest privileges, and it must be obtained lawfully and honestly,” said Acting Attorney General @DAGToddBlanche. “The complaints announced today allege… pic.twitter.com/ek7uHiAooR
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) August 3, 2026
The complaints were filed between July 20 and Aug. 3 in various U.S. district courts against 25 individuals accused of serious offenses, the DOJ said, highlighting their cases in a news release.
The group includes attempted murderers, spousal abusers, child sex offenders and financial scammers.
The DOJ can move to revoke a naturalized U.S. citizen’s citizenship under the Immigration and Nationality Act if the naturalization was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.
Denaturalization can occur through civil proceedings or pursuant to a criminal conviction, according to a July 13 update from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. However, the DOJ holds a high burden of proof when filing such cases and must prove its case in a federal district court.
In the latest cases announced on Monday, Aug. 3, the DOJ alleges the individuals used various dishonest tactics, including fraud, lying, omission and unlawful conduct, to secure U.S. citizenship.
Some of them concealed violent crimes, sexual offenses against children, sham marriages, and other disqualifying facts.
DOJ officials maintain they lack “good moral character” required by law and obtained citizenship by willful misrepresentations and concealment of their crimes.
The announcement comes as Blanche faces a final confirmation vote on the Senate floor for the top spot as Attorney General. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved his nomination on a 12–10 vote on Tuesday.
“(Monday’s) filings represent the largest coordinated denaturalization effort in Department history, but they are only the beginning,” Blanche said. “The Justice Department will continue to use every tool available to protect the integrity of the naturalization process and the safety of the American people.”
Among the 25 cases, several individuals were found to have used fake identities or committed immigration fraud during their naturalization proceedings. DOJ officials allege some of them concocted elaborate schemes including stolen identities, multiple identities and sham marriages to naturalize.
The District of New Mexico is seeking the denaturalization of Yi Lee, 46, from Taiwan, who masterminded a marriage fraud ring prior to naturalizing. In 2017, Lee pled guilty to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and his crime precluded the required good moral character to become a citizen, DOJ officials said.
In Georgia, Louisa Fernandez Ordonez, 54, from Colombia, failed to disclose in her naturalization proceedings that she obtained her permanent residence as a result of marriage fraud and that she was married to two men simultaneously.
In 2000, Ordonez paid a U.S. citizen to marry her so that she could become a permanent residence. It was determined she never established a marital relationship with the man, and in 2003, she married another man without first divorcing her first husband, according to the complaint the Northern District of Georgia.
In Florida, Tatiana Power, 46, originally from Moldova, was naturalized in 2010. In 2021, Power was charged with several crimes related to selling videos and images of child sexual abuse on numerous websites.
Power admitted her involvement in the illegal enterprise before she became a citizen and was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering in 2022, the DOJ said.
The District of South Carolina filed a case against Emigdio Sanchez, 62, originally from Mexico, who beat and choked his wife so severely she was hospitalized. He was arrested for the assault, later pleaded guilty and then lied about it on his naturalization application.
In another case out of Texas, Jose Luis Martinez-Zavala, 80, originally from Mexico, was naturalized in 2014. Martinez-Zavala did not tell the government he had earlier committed aggravated sexual assault of a child in 2010. He pleaded guilty to the crime in 2020, making him in ineligible to naturalize, according to the DOJ.
The Eastern District of North Carolina filed to denaturalize Dwyane Robinson, 44, originally from Jamaica, who shot and attempted to murder another man.
Robinson was convicted of attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. He was other than honorably discharged from the U.S. Army while awaiting trial, making him subject to denaturalization, the DOJ said.
Both Haitham A. Mustafa, 58, from Jordan, and Jairo Javier Pedron Tellez, 29, from Cuba, committed credit card and bank fraud and other financial crimes, the DOJ said.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said each individual “committed crimes incompatible with U.S. citizenship.”
“We are moving at record speed to denaturalize those who sought to deceive the federal government and abuse the naturalization process,” Shumate added.
On July 20, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released the names of 10 individuals facing denaturalization actions. They are accused of serious offenses, including child sexual abuse, health care and wire fraud, immigration fraud and drug trafficking.
“When you commit fraud during the naturalization process, you forfeit the right to keep your U.S. citizenship,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. “DHS is committed to ensuring we denaturalize and remove these fraudsters with every tool at our disposal.”
