US Justice Department launches largest denaturalisation effort in modern history against 40 naturalised citizens

The US Department of Justice announced on Monday it has filed denaturalisation actions against 40 naturalised US citizens accused of serious offences, reports USA Today.

Attorney General Todd Blanche called it “the largest denaturalization effort in modern history,” saying the defendants “concealed critical facts from the U.S. government.”

The complaints were filed between 21 August and 2 October, the largest volume in a single period under the Trump administration. Alleged offences include acting as an agent for a foreign government, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated sodomy, transportation of child pornography and sexual abuse of a minor. At least 25 faced proceedings related to lying on visa forms. The 40 come from around the globe — 11 from Mexico — and range in age from 26 to 76.

Named are Jinchao Wei, 26, the China-born ex-Navy sailor convicted of selling military secrets to China; Raul Cisneros, 76, of Mexico, who, the DOJ said, pleaded guilty in California to lewd acts on a minor and lied when becoming a citizen; and Walid Osman, 62, an Egypt native accused of lying on naturalisation forms. Osman’s attorney called the filing “riddled with errors and speculation” and said he would “vigorously defend this case in court.” DHS referred questions to the DOJ, calling it “the lead agency for denaturalization cases.”

No court has yet ruled on these DOJ complaints — they are allegations at this stage. Per TRACE, the push is the greatest number of attempted denaturalisations in recent years — more than the past several years combined.