Trump DOJ to denaturalize 17 US citizens in rare move

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Donald Trump on Monday said it would denaturalize 17 US citizens who were convicted of crimes in various courts.

What do we know about the denaturalization push?

According to a DOJ statement, the 17 individuals were born in countries such as Cuba, Haiti, Somalia, China and India. They were convicted of crimes such as healthcare fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to manipulate stock prices. 

The DOJ has accused these individuals of covering up their criminal activities during the naturalization process.  

“Gaining US citizenship is a privilege and under the steadfast leadership of President Trump, this Department of Justice maintains a zeo-tolerance policy for the abuse of this process,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement.

“We continue to work around the clock with our interagency partners to make sure US citizenship is granted to those who truly deserve it,” he added. 

Trump admin also going after birthright citizenship

Denaturalization is rare in the US and can only occur in federal court. Denaturalization is only for US citizens who received US nationality via the citizenship process. 

Birthright citizenship is protected by the US Constitution and is explicitly granted to any individual born under the legal jurisdiction of the US federal government.   

But the Trump administration is also going after birthright citizenship. 

An executive order signed by Trump early in his presidency sought to revoke birthright citizenship to Americans born to undocumented parents.

The Trump administration is also targeting foreigners who come to US territory to give birth to a US citizen baby, a phenomenon known as “birth tourism.”

The US Supreme Court is expected to issue a possible decision by the end of this month regarding the Trump executive order to end automatic birthright citizenship.

US judge strikes down Trump $100k H1-B visa fee 

In addition to naturalization and citizenship, the Trump administration is pursuing restrictions on other areas of US legal immigration policy. Some of these methods are facing legal pushback from the court system. 

On Monday, a US federal judge struck down a $100,000 (€86,702) fee the Trump administration imposed on H1-B visas for highly skilled foreign workers.  The Trump administration had argued that the H1-B is being used to replaced American workers.   

Twenty Democratic attorneys general filed a suit challenging the fee. 

US District Judge Leo Sorokin in Massachusetts, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, said the $100,000 was not a fee, but rather a tax which requires congressional authorization. 

“Here, the substance and application of the $100,000 payment reveal that it is a tax, regardless of what the payment is called,” Sorokin said in his ruling.  

Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez