The Trump administration has identified a Jamaican national among 17 naturalized US citizens it has identified for denaturalization proceedings.
The US Department of Justice confirmed that the court had convicted the Jamaican national, for wire fraud.
Reports have indicated that the Justice Department is working to revoke the citizenship of 17 individuals. These include people originally from Haiti, Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, the former Yugoslavia, and the Philippines.
The Justice Department said, some of the individuals who it has targeted have convictions for serious crimes. These include offenses against children. Others have convictions for fraud-related crimes or are accused of immigration fraud.
Denaturalization forms part of the Trump administration’s broader immigration crackdown.
Last year, the Justice Department expanded the types of naturalized citizens prioritized for citizenship revocation.
The US DOJ targets criminal naturalized citizens for denaturalization
Federal officials assert that individuals they have targeted hid their criminal past during the naturalization process. Or, they were ineligible for US citizenship due to failure to demonstrate “good moral character.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the Justice Department has a “zero tolerance” policy for abuses of the naturalization process.
According to Blanche, “Criminal aliens are lying about their past crimes, including drug dealers, sexual predators, and fraudsters.”
Meanwhile, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said, the administration would “continue to use every lawful avenue to denaturalize and remove criminal aliens.”
He emphasized that “American citizenship is a privilege that must be earned honestly.” Mullin further noted that individuals who commit crimes or provide false information during immigration proceedings lose the privilege of U.S. citizenship.
However, the denaturalization process allows those affected to challenge the government’s allegations in court.
When the court denaturalized a person the system returned them to a previous immigration status. Usually that of a lawful permanent resident or green card holder. In addition, they lose the legal protections and benefits associated with American citizenship, including safeguards against deportation.
Denaturalization cases can be lengthy and complex. Moreover, they are relatively rare because the government must persuade a judge to revoke a person’s citizenship.
Between 1990 and 2017, the federal government filed an average of 11 denaturalization cases annually.