An aggressive push to strip naturalized Americans of their citizenship is underway at the Justice Department, which has set a target of bringing no fewer than 250 denaturalization lawsuits in federal courts before fiscal year 2026 closes on September 30 — a pace that would dwarf anything seen in modern U.S. history, a department official confirmed to CBS News.

To appreciate the scale of that ambition, consider the baseline: from 1990 through 2017, federal prosecutors averaged roughly 11 such cases annually, figures from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) show. That number has already been eclipsed in single months this year — TRAC's June 17 report counted at least 15 denaturalization suits filed in May 2026 alone, followed by 18 more in just the first two weeks of June.

Stripping citizenship from foreign-born Americans is a power long embedded in federal law, available when prosecutors can demonstrate that someone obtained naturalization through fraud or concealment — for instance, by hiding criminal history on immigration paperwork. Courts must approve every such action, and until recently the tool was deployed sparingly, reserved largely for war criminals and perpetrators of severe human rights violations.

Under the Trump administration, the range of conduct that qualifies for denaturalization priority was widened last year, CBS News reported. Administration officials frame the shift as vigorous enforcement of statutes already on the books, whereas critics contend the expanded criteria risk ensnaring naturalized citizens as an adjunct to broader deportation campaigns.

Anyone named in a denaturalization suit retains the right to fight the allegations in court. Should the government succeed, the individual forfeits all citizenship rights, reverts to their previous immigration status — generally lawful permanent residency — and becomes subject to removal to their country of origin, according to sources familiar with the process.

The geographic reach of the current enforcement wave is broad. Court records reviewed by Newsweek document at least eight denaturalization filings in 2026 spanning Florida, Wisconsin, Delaware, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.

Two separate Justice Department announcements in May and June described distinct enforcement tranches — one covering 12 cases, another detailing 17 — and a further action targeted Victor Manuel Rocha, a former American diplomat who admitted in court to covertly serving Cuban intelligence, sources said.

The June 8 announcement of the 17-case wave described defendants accused of offenses ranging from fraud to sexual abuse. Among those highlighted were a Cuban national previously convicted in a health care fraud scheme and a Jamaican national whose prior conviction involved stock manipulation and wire fraud. Several additional cases centered on sexual offenses against minors that were never disclosed during the naturalization process, while others involved alleged misrepresentation tied to criminal conduct or immigration fraud, the department said.

The earlier May tranche of 12 cases focused on defendants accused of graver national-security and atrocity-related conduct, including alleged material support for terrorist organizations and the commission of war crimes, sources said.

The enforcement surge unfolds against a backdrop of substantial naturalization activity: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data show nearly 8 million people became American citizens over the past decade, including 818,500 who were sworn in during fiscal year 2024.

Informational content only, not legal advice. Consult a licensed immigration attorney.