Since October of 2019 the issue of enforcing public charge on behalf of Trump’s administration has been a debated matter in the Supreme Court. After months of deciding, the Supreme Court came to the conclusion to allow The Department of Homeland Security to begin implementing public charge. This will help the administration in determining the likeliness of individuals who might depend on government funded programs and assistance.
A day after this rule was yet to be enforced, the Justice Department came forward about the creation of a section that will help them with the process of denaturalizing citizens. According to the Justice Department, this section in the department will solely focus on: “sex offenders, terrorists, war criminals, and others who might have unlawfully obtained citizenship.” Although denaturalization has been enforced in previous presidencies, the Trump administration is making an effort and dedicating multiple resources to carry out such policy against many naturalized individuals.
How does the Department of Justice determine when to file a denaturalization lawsuit?
- If the naturalized citizen did not meet all the legal requirements.
- If the individual lied during their naturalization process.
What happens to the individuals after denaturalization?
Individuals will return to the immigration status they had before becoming a citizen, they can be deported and may also be sentenced to jail time for fraudulent naturalization. There are currently 19.8 million naturalized citizens, some of who fear being denaturalized for minor mistakes they might have committed during their application process to obtain U.S citizenship. Under the Trump administration, denaturalization has been increasing, something that at this point can be a concern for the public.
– Maria Campos Tello
CIMA Law Group Blog 