The United States immigration has been directed to ramp up the identification of those who naturalized through fraudulent or dishonest means for possible denaturalization and deportation.
According to the directive, a monthly target of 100 and 200 potential denaturalisation cases has been set.
To achieve this, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has reassigned staff and sent experts to field offices across the country to review past naturalization approvals. The aim is to supply the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation with a steady flow of cases.
USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said the agency acts when there is evidence of fraud or misrepresentation in the naturalisation process.
“We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards fraud in the naturalisation process and will pursue denaturalisation proceedings for any individual who lied or misrepresented themselves,” NBC quoted him as saying.
“We will continue to relentlessly pursue those undermining the integrity of America’s immigration system and work alongside the Department of Justice to ensure that only those who meet citizenship standards retain the privilege of US citizenship,” he said.
The Justice Department has instructed attorneys to prioritize denaturalisation. It has cited cases involving individuals who pose national security risks, committed war crimes, or engaged in Medicaid or Medicare fraud.
A broader clause allows action in “any other cases … that the division determines to be sufficiently important to pursue,” the Justice Department added.
Denaturalization is a legal process through which government revokes a person’s citizenship that was previously obtained through naturalization.
Trump has repeatedly focused on citizenship policy. He is also seeking authority to end birthright citizenship for children born in the US to foreign nationals, an issue currently before the Supreme Court.
In a Thanksgiving message last year, Trump wrote that he would remove anyone who was not a “net asset” to the US and would “denaturalise migrants who undermine domestic tranquility.”
