The Justice Department has moved to revoke the citizenship of 40 Americans in a six-week period – an eleventh-hour push that is expected to expand significantly in the days and weeks ahead. 

Attorney General Todd Blanche said the 40 cases brought by DOJ between August 28 and October 2 represent the ‘largest denaturalization effort in modern history.’ 

The surge comes as the DOJ races to file 250 denaturalization cases by the end of October, more than double the 120 it brought between Trump’s return to office on January 20, 2025, and late August.

The target has alarmed immigration lawyers and advocates, who question the drain on resources and the strength of some cases.

‘Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Justice will continue to employ the denaturalization process to maintain our national security and protect the American people,’ Blanche said Tuesday.

The individuals DOJ targeted for denaturalization in its most recent effort are accused of crimes in 19 separate federal districts, officials said, and came to the US from countries including Mexico, China, Iran, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

‘From an individual convicted of espionage to others convicted of sexual offenses against minors, these defendants concealed critical facts from the US government and represent serious criminal offenders,’ Blanche said in a press release. 

Many of the pending cases involve defendants that are accused of having lied or omitted details about their conduct on government forms, which DOJ says would have made them ineligible to gain citizenship. 

Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice headquarters

Demonstrators hold protest signs during a march in Atlanta as part of a ‘No Kings’ protest to denounce the Trump administration

It’s unclear if, or how many off these errors or omissions may have been accidental.

Still, the the fast-tracked effort – and lofty target – has sparked concern from many immigration advocates and lawyers, who say they fear the individuals in question may not be afforded the opportunity to make their case in a US court. 

Already, their efforts far outpace that of previous administrations. 

Between 1990 and 2017, an average of just 11 denaturalization cases were filed annually by the the Justice Department, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.

The Biden administration, for its part, brought just 24 denaturalization cases in a four-year period. 

‘The Trump administration’s second-term approach on denaturalization aligns with much of the rest of its immigration policy agenda: more enforcement, less legal immigration, and harder-to-access citizenship,’ MPI’s Muzaffar and Chishti Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh said in a report. 

They also noted that the more immediate goal may well be creating a culture of fear, given the long time frame some of these cases take to complete. 

‘Creating a climate of hostility is much more achievable than large-scale denaturalizations, as history has shown,’ they said.