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The federal government has sharply increased efforts to strip naturalized U.S. citizens of their citizenship, filing dozens of denaturalization lawsuits in recent weeks after years of relatively rare use of the legal process, according to a new report released last month.
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a research center at Syracuse University, found that at least 15 civil denaturalization complaints were filed in May 2026, followed by 18 more in the first half of June. Historically, the federal government averaged fewer than one such case per month.
The sudden spike marks a significant escalation in enforcement under the Trump administration, which has identified denaturalization as a priority area for civil immigration enforcement.
“Denaturalization, once a rare occurrence in federal courts, is now becoming increasingly common,” TRAC said in its report.
The analysis identified 166 denaturalization cases filed in federal courts between 2008 and June 12, 2026. While filings remained low for years — including fewer than four cases annually during the Biden administration — the numbers began rising again after a June 2025 Justice Department memo expanded enforcement priorities.
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