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Denaturalization Lawsuits Jump in May and June 2026

TRAC (Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse) · back to the audit
Published Jun 17, 2026

Starting last month, the Trump Administration dramatically increased the number of denaturalization complaints it filed against individuals seeking to revoke their US citizenship. While historically the federal government brought an average of less than 1 denaturalization civil lawsuit per month (or just 0.6), at least 15 denaturalization complaints were filed in May 2026, and 18 have already been filed in the first part of June 2026.

166 denaturalization complaints were identified covering a period from 2008 through June 12, 2026. Denaturalization complaints filed were based on a number of different grounds. These included convictions for significant unlawful acts prior to naturalizing as well as falsely representing their identity in order to obtain naturalization in the first instance.

During the Biden Administration, the number of denaturalization complaints filed remained low, averaging less than 4 per year. Beginning in June 2025, the second Trump Administration reinstituted denaturalization efforts by identifying expansive categories of civil enforcement priorities. On June 11, 2025, the DOJ Civil Division issued a memo outlining several types of civil enforcement priorities, including denaturalization.

The initial year of the second Trump Administration witnessed little change in the number of denaturalization complaints filed with a total of just eight (8) denaturalization complaints filed in all of 2025. As noted earlier, however, beginning in May 2026 the DOJ filed 15 denaturalization complaints in succession, and an additional 18 denaturalization complaints have already been filed this month as of June 12, 2026.

Denaturalization, once a rare occurrence in federal courts, is now becoming increasingly common. This increase is expected to continue. The combination of the resumption of the HFE project and DOJ's establishment of denaturalization as a civil enforcement priority has created the administrative processes and infrastructure to support an expansive system for civil denaturalization proceedings.

TRAC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit data research project founded in 1989.