Trump Has Now Widened Offenses That Can Trigger Denaturalization. Civil Cases & Minor Infractions Now Included.

Trump Has Now Widened Offenses That Can Trigger Denaturalization. Civil Cases & Minor Infractions Now Included.

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Citizenship in America may now come with a class divide.

Those born on U.S. soil are treated differently from those who earned it through naturalization.

The Trump administration has expanded the list of offenses that can lead to denaturalization, the process of revoking U.S. citizenship from naturalized Americans.

This was not done through new legislation, but through a Department of Justice directive backed by an executive order issued on June 30, 2025.

The memo, signed by Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, instructs DOJ attorneys to prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization in all cases permitted by law and supported by evidence.

The memo confirms that naturalized citizens may now be investigated and stripped of citizenship for a broader range of crimes.

These include national security threats, human rights violations, gang or cartel activity, sexual offenses, and financial crimes such as Paycheck Protection Program loan fraud and Medicaid or Medicare fraud.

Before Trump’s second term, denaturalization was typically reserved for grave offenses like terrorism or immigration fraud.

Now, the criteria are broader and more ambiguous.

Even minor infractions such as misstatements on immigration forms, misuse of public benefits, or undisclosed affiliations could trigger review.

Critics argue the policy is dangerously broad.

Denaturalization cases are civil, not criminal, meaning defendants are not guaranteed legal counsel.

Prosecutors have wide discretion to decide which cases to pursue, raising fears of arbitrary or politically motivated targeting, especially of immigrants in high-risk professions like healthcare.

Legal experts warn this could create a second class of citizenship.

Naturalized Americans may now live under the threat of losing their status for crimes that would not affect native-born citizens.

Advocacy groups say this is a chilling expansion of executive power, especially in a system already seen as hostile to immigrants.

But for millions of naturalized Americans and advocates, it feels like a warning and an attempt to erase the immigrant experience from American life by using vague allegations of crime as justification, in a system where there is no guaranteed due process to defend themselves.

A naturalized U.S. citizen applies for food stamps and unintentionally underreports their income by a few hundred dollars per month.

They continue receiving benefits for over a year based on this incorrect information.

Under the new DOJ directive, even if the mistake was not intentional, prosecutors could argue that the person misused a government program or committed benefit fraud.

This type of financial misconduct, especially if it involves federal funds, can now be grounds for civil denaturalization proceedings.

Other examples of minor infractions that could trigger review include failing to disclose a past visa overstay or deportation order during the naturalization process,

using a different name or date of birth on an immigration form even if corrected later,

claiming a tax credit or benefit one was not technically eligible for, omitting a misdemeanor arrest from a naturalization application, or working under a false Social Security number before becoming a citizen.

According to VisaVerge, the Trump DOJ has removed strict limits on what types of offenses qualify.

Prosecutors now have broad discretion to pursue denaturalization even for infractions that would not have triggered action in the past.

And because denaturalization cases are civil, not criminal, defendants are not guaranteed legal counsel.

Many may have to defend their citizenship alone in court.

You can read the DOJ memo here and the full list of targeted offenses in El Pais and Salon’s coverage.