US Moves to Strip 40 of Citizenship in "Largest" Denaturalisation Drive, Including an Indian-Origin Man

The US Department of Justice on Monday announced what it called the largest denaturalisation effort in modern history, moving to revoke the citizenship of 40 people, including one of Indian origin.

The 40 face denaturalisation proceedings in federal courts across the country. The accusations include acting as an agent of a foreign government, voluntary manslaughter and aggravated sodomy against a man with special needs.

"Today's announcement marks the largest denaturalisation effort in modern history," Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, who heads the Justice Department's Civil Division, said: "Every single one of these individuals lied their way into US citizenship." He added: "This administration will continue to pursue the largest denaturalisation effort in department history to restore trust and integrity in US citizenship. Our message is clear: the United States will not tolerate deception in the naturalisation process."

THE INDIAN-ORIGIN CASE

Balwinder Singh, a California resident, is facing a complaint in the state's Eastern District court. According to the Justice Department, he first applied for immigration status in 1992 under one identity and secured permanent residency in 2003 under another. He naturalised in 2009 under the second identity.

"Fingerprints establish that Singh submitted both applications," the department said. "The complaint alleges seven counts for his numerous misrepresentations and unlawful acts that adversely reflect his moral character."

THE ESPIONAGE CASE

The government is also pursuing Jinchao Wei, a China-born former US Navy sailor. Wei enlisted in 2021, and by February 2022 had begun conspiring to sell classified military information to Beijing, official records show. He gained citizenship in May 2022 under accelerated provisions for people who complete honourable service in the US armed forces.

He was convicted in August 2025 of conspiracy to commit espionage, espionage and the unlawful export of defence-related technical data. He was sentenced to 200 months in prison and dishonourably discharged from the Navy.

The Justice Department said similar proceedings have begun against people from Pakistan, Mexico, Cambodia, Nepal and Afghanistan. It described all 40 as having secured citizenship through fraud, active concealment or misrepresentation.

WHAT THE LAW ALLOWS

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalised citizen's citizenship and certificate of naturalisation can be revoked if the status was obtained unlawfully, or through the deliberate concealment of material facts or wilful misrepresentation. The government must prove its case in a federal court. USCIS refers cases to the Justice Department, which then has to win in court before anyone loses citizenship, the Boston Globe reported.

HOW THE DRIVE GREW

Denaturalisation has historically been rare. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center says an average of only about 11 cases a year were opened between 1990 and 2017.

Operation Janus, a Department of Homeland Security initiative that began under the first Trump administration, identified about 315,000 cases in which some fingerprint data was missing from the central digital repository. In 2018, the Justice Department announced the first denaturalisation to arise from it, against an Indian native, Baljinder Singh.

The effort has since expanded. A June 11, 2025 Civil Division memo told attorneys to "prioritize and maximally pursue" denaturalisation in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence. It lists priority categories that include national-security risks, gang and trafficking links, and government benefit fraud, plus a catch-all for any case the division finds "sufficiently important."

Internal USCIS guidance reported by The New York Times directs field offices to supply the Justice Department with 100 to 200 denaturalisation referrals a month in fiscal year 2026. The Justice Department told NBC News earlier this year that it was reviewing at least 300 people and was moving "at warp speed." A Justice Department source told NewsNation that about 78 cases had been filed in federal court in under six months of this year.

CRITICISM AROUND THE MOVE

Former officials and legal experts have questioned the scale. Ricky Murray, a former senior USCIS official, said the threshold for referrals was lower, but the Justice Department's burden and the standard of proof in federal court had not changed. Another former USCIS official, Sarah Pierce, said numerical targets risk politicising the revocation of citizenship. Advocacy groups such as Democracy Forward have also warned the catch-all category could be applied broadly.

The administration says its focus is on fraud. A USCIS spokesperson has said the department is working to "restore integrity to America's immigration system."

With inputs from ANI