A newly disclosed Justice Department Civil Division memo reveals that the Trump administration is prioritizing efforts to strip some naturalized Americans of their citizenship. The internal communication dated June 11, addressed to all Civil Division employees by Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, outlines a broad mandate to “maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings.” Unlike criminal proceedings, defendants in civil cases are not entitled to legal representation, and the burden of proof to win a case is lighter.
Shumate lists ten different categories to justify the pursuit of such cases. Some are straightforward enough, such as “individuals who engaged in torture, war crimes and other human rights violations,” or “individuals who committed human trafficking, sex offenses, or violent crimes.” Others relate to fraudulently obtaining citizenship through corruption of government officials, or “material misrepresentations.” Some key categories, however, are vague, like Shumate’s order that cases be brought against “individuals who pose a potential danger to national security.”
Defining what qualifies as a national security concern can be politically fraught. Organizers of the Jan. 6 insurrection like Stewart Rhodes and Enrique Tarrio were imprisoned for their seditious attempt to violently overturn the results of an election, until the Trump administration pardoned them; meanwhile, pro-Palestine activist and legal resident Mahmoud Khalil, who has no record of any violent acts or rhetoric, was detained without charges for months and remains threatened with deportation based on Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s assessment that his presence in the United States – not even his words or actions – run counter to US foreign policy.
In the event that an individual targeted by the administration does not meet any of the categories deemed appropriate for pursuing action, Shumate states that the Civil Rights Division “retains the discretion to pursue cases outside of these categories as it determines appropriate.”
The revelation comes after a decision from the Supreme Court last week allowing the Trump administration to deny birthright citizenship to children of immigrants. According to the Migration Policy Institute, around 25 million Americans are naturalized citizens.
