The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a record 25 denaturalization cases over a two-week period between July 20 and Aug. 3, marking the “largest denaturalization effort ever,” according to the department.
The denaturalization complaints were filed in multiple district courts against people alleged to have carried out various serious offenses, including assault, attempted murder, battery, and sexual assault, the DOJ said in an Aug. 3 statement.
According to the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized person’s U.S. citizenship can be removed and the certificate of naturalization canceled if their naturalization was obtained illegally or secured by concealing certain facts or through willful misrepresentation.
One of the accused, Tatiana Power, 46, originally from Moldova, was naturalized in 2010.
In 2021, Power was accused of participating in the business of selling videos and images depicting sexual abuse against children. Power admitted her part in such activities prior to gaining U.S. citizenship, the DOJ said.
The federal government is seeking Power’s denaturalization due to her criminal acts and the misrepresentations used to obtain her naturalization.
In another case, Jose Luis Martinez-Zavala, 80, originally from Mexico, was naturalized in 2014. According to the department, during naturalization, Martinez-Zavala failed to reveal that he had earlier committed aggravated sexual assault of a child in 2010.
In 2020, Martinez-Zavala was convicted of the offense. During naturalization, Martinez-Zavala swore he had not committed a crime for which he had been arrested, the DOJ said.
Another defendant, Dwyane Robinson, 44, originally from Jamaica, had shot and attempted to kill a man, for which he was convicted of attempted first-degree murder.
Robinson was previously naturalized on the basis of his military service. But in 2013, while awaiting trial for his crimes, he was discharged from the U.S. Army. Last month, the DOJ filed to denaturalize Robinson.
An individual’s naturalization can be revoked either through civil proceedings or pursuant to a criminal conviction, according to a July 13 update from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The government holds a high burden of proof when filing such cases.
For civil revocations, the government must provide “clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence which does not leave the issue in doubt,” USCIS said. For criminal revocations, the burden of proof is the same as in other criminal cases—the proof must be beyond a reasonable doubt.
USCIS refers cases for civil revocation when the applicant obtained naturalization illegally, concealed critical information, or willfully misrepresented facts during the naturalization process.
In its recent statement, the DOJ said that under the current Trump administration, the department has filed 123 civil denaturalization cases, which it claimed was the most in recorded history.
“U.S. citizenship is one of our nation’s highest privileges, and it must be obtained lawfully and honestly,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the statement.
The Epoch Times was unable to reach the legal representatives for Tatiana Power, Jose Luis Martinez-Zavala, and Dwyane Robinson.
Denaturalizing Criminals
The administration’s denaturalization push was criticized by Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) in an April 24 post on X, who said that individuals subjected to the naturalization process are “extensively vetted.”
“The President’s targeting of naturalized U.S. citizens is not only a reckless weaponization of the Department of Justice, it is an attack on core American values,” Meng said.
In January, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) introduced the Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation Act to expand the denaturalization process to individuals who have committed fraud or serious felonies or were part of terrorist organizations, according to a Jan. 19 statement from the lawmaker’s office.
The legislation came amid reports of rampant fraud committed by Somali crime rings in Minnesota, in which many naturalized U.S. citizens were convicted, the statement said.
“People who commit felony fraud, serious felonies, or join terrorist organizations like drug cartels shortly after taking their citizenship oaths fail to uphold the basic standards of citizenship,” Schmitt said in the statement.
“They must be denaturalized because they have proven they never met the requirements for the great honor of American citizenship in the first place.”
The bill is under consideration in the Senate.
