The Justice Department is taking action to revoke the U.S. citizenship of 40-year-old Americans, accusing them of lying or omitting facts about their criminal records on their applications to become citizens.
This marks a major escalation in the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown. The individuals face denaturalisation proceedings, a rare and serious legal step that strips a person of their citizenship if fraud is proven.
The DOJ action comes as new data indicates naturalisation approvals have plummeted under the administration. According to the National Foundation for American Policy analysis, naturalisation approvals dropped 78% between January 2025 and July 2026.
The Department of Homeland Security has publicly touted a 75% drop in naturalisations, along with 3.3 million removals, 250,000 revoked visas, and a 94% asylum denial rate.
A driving factor behind the decline was an August 2025 USCIS memo directing adjudicators to apply a heightened standard, requiring applicants to showcase “positive attributes” beyond simply avoiding negative factors.
Between January 2025 and July 2026, the denial rate for naturalisation has more than doubled, rising from 8.4% to 20.1%. Meanwhile, economists warn that the immigration reductions have harmed the U.S. economy. The civilian labour force has fallen by 434,000 workers since January 2025, and real average hourly earnings decreased by 0.3% from August 2025 to August 2026, projecting a potential loss of 19 million by 2028.
2026-10-05 23:19:00
