Justice Department moves to denaturalize 17 immigrants accused of sex offenses, fraud, drug dealing and more

Justice Department announces denaturalization efforts.

The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday announced new legal action against 17 immigrants accused of an array of serious crimes with the aim to strip them of U.S. citizenship, a bold and ambitious maneuver in President Trump's tough stance on immigration.

According to a statement released by the Justice Department, denaturalization actions have been filed in several states against suspects who are accused of the "sexual abuse of a minor, wire and bank fraud, and distributing drugs wholesale without a license," among other serious crimes. 

“When criminal aliens exploit the naturalization process by breaking the law, there are consequences," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the statement. "Criminal aliens are lying about their past crimes, including drug dealers, sexual predators, and fraudsters. Gaining U.S. citizenship is a privilege and under the steadfast leadership of President Trump, this Department of Justice maintains a zero-tolerance policy for the abuse of this process."

The 17 individuals named in the document range in age from 39 to 69 and came to the U.S. from all over the world, including countries like Mexico, Philippines, Cuba, China, Somalia, Yugoslavia, and others, according to the the list provided by the Justice Department. Some of them have been in the country since the 1990s, living in Georgia, New Jersey, Minnesota, Nevada, and elsewhere. The individuals targeted for denaturalization have all be convicted of heinous crimes, and the government must now prove that they obtained their citizenship in an unlawful way.

The U.S. government, under Title III of the Immigrant and Nationality Act of 1952, is afforded the capacity to revoke a naturalized citizen's citizenship for a host of reasons, including cases in which immigrants are found to have illegally procured naturalization by concealing material facts or willfully misrepresenting an aspect of who they are during the immigration process. 

Like many of the measures the Trump administration has taken since his return to office, it's almost certain that this new push to strip citizenship from alleged criminals will face legal challenges.