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The US Justice Department under President Donald Trump has launched proceedings to revoke the citizenship of 40 naturalised Americans accused of serious crimes, in what officials describe as the largest such initiative during his administration.
The department filed denaturalisation actions in federal courts between August 21 and October 2 against people accused of offences including acting as agents for foreign governments, voluntary manslaughter and aggravated sexual assault.
Under the US Immigration and Nationality Act, naturalised citizenship can be revoked by a federal court if the government proves that it was obtained through fraud, concealment of material facts or deliberate misrepresentation during the naturalisation process.
Attorney General Todd Blanche said those targeted had concealed critical information from the government and were serious criminal offenders.
The cases involve citizens from several countries, including Mexico, China, Iran, Pakistan and the Philippines. One of those targeted is Jinchao Wei, a Chinese-born former US Navy sailor who was convicted of espionage and illegally exporting defence-related technical data. He was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison.
The Trump administration has been seeking to significantly expand denaturalisation efforts.
The Justice Department filed a memo in 2025 directing its civil division to increase such cases and consider broader categories of people for citizenship revocation.
From 2017 through late 2025, about 120 people were denaturalised, according to reports cited by The Guardian.
Justice Department officials have indicated that the latest cases could be the first wave of a broader campaign.
