A newly released memo from Assistant Attorney General Brent Shumate directed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Division last month to prioritize stripping citizenship from naturalized citizens who commit heinous and serious crimes, among other priorities.
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“The benefits of civil denaturalization include the government’s ability to revoke the citizenship of individuals who engaged in the commission of war crimes, extrajudicial killings, or other serious human rights abuses; to remove naturalized criminals, gang members, or, indeed, any individuals convicted of crimes who pose an ongoing threat to the United States; and to prevent convicted terrorists from returning to U.S. soil or traveling internationally on a U.S. passport,” the memo reads.
“At a fundamental level, it also supports the overall integrity of the naturalization program by ensuring that those who unlawfully procured citizenship, including those who obtained it through fraud or concealment of material information, do not maintain the benefits of the unlawful procurement,” it added.
The June 11 memo instructed the Civil Division in how they can best work to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda, including by targeting naturalized citizens committing crimes.
The Division will “maximally pursue” denaturalization proceedings in all viable cases, following a list of prioritized case types:
- Cases including national security threats with ties to terrorism or espionage.
- Cases including individuals who committed acts of torture, war crimes, or other human rights violations.
- Cases including those who assist criminal gangs and drug cartels.
- Cases including individuals who committed felonies they failed to disclose prior to the naturalization process.
- Cases including human trafficking, sex offenses, or violent crimes.
- Cases including fraud against taxpayers via things such as Medicare fraud or COVID-Era PPP loan fraud.
- Cases including fraud against private individuals and corporations.
- Cases including individuals who received citizenship via fraud or deception.
- Any other cases the division believes viable.
“The Civil Division retains the discretion to pursue cases outside of these categories as it determines appropriate. The assignment of denaturalization cases may be made across sections or units based on experience, subject-matter expertise, and the overall needs of the Civil Division,” said the memo.
In addition to prioritizing denaturalization proceedings, the memo laid out a set of other priorities for the Civil Division.
The Division will also pursue cases involving private-sector discrimination via Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), programs that hire and award employees based on immutable characteristics like race rather than merit.
The division is also instructed to enact the president’s executive order combatting antisemitism by pursuing cases against entities that receive federal funds while knowingly allowing or supporting antisemitic activities.
In order to protect the nation’s women and girls, the division will investigate distributors of puberty blockers or other drugs intended to facilitate a gender transition who make false claims about their products. They will also investigate any false reimbursement claims for transgender-related medical expenses that are not eligible to be covered by taxpayer-funded programs like Medicaid.
The DOJ Division will aid in the deportation agenda by working to challenge sanctuary policies and laws that impede the enforcement of federal immigration law, according to the new policy guidelines.
