The Justice Department is aggressively prioritizing efforts to strip some Americans of their U.S. citizenship.

Department leadership is directing its attorneys to prioritize denaturalization in cases involving naturalized citizens who commit certain crimes — and giving district attorneys wider discretion on when to pursue this tactic, according to a June 11 memo published online. The move is aimed at U.S. citizens who were not born in the country; according to data from 2023, close to 25 million immigrants were naturalized citizens.

The focus on denaturalization is just the latest step by the Trump administration to reshape the nation’s immigration system across all levels of government, turning it into a major focus across multiple federal agencies. That has come with redefining who is let into the United States or has the right to be an American. Since his return to office, the president has sought to end birthright citizenship and scale back refugee programs.

  • DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works
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    4 hours ago

    As a naturalized citizen:

    Bouta be stateless, since my birth country doesn’t do dual citizenship. Thanks a lot, Xi 🙃 (not that I would like it there anyways)

    • iknowitwheniseeit@lemmynsfw.com
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      2 hours ago

      I wonder how this works. In the Netherlands we don’t take away citizenship from naturalized citizens if they gave up all other citizenships.

  • crystalmerchant@lemmy.world
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    10 hours ago

    I am a straight white upper middle class American citizen, son of two straight white upper middle class American citizens.

    I am almost exactly who the GOP says they like the most… EXCEPT I am a liberal atheist.

    And STILL I am just waiting for the day when the administration announces a new class of people they are targeting and somehow I get wrapped up in it eventually.

    They are coming for anyone who is not them.

  • IAmNorRealTakeYourMeds@lemmy.world
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    14 hours ago

    this is beyond terrifying.

    how every American can be treated like those "illegal immigrants ", and anyone could be snatched, denationalised, and sent to a concentration camp to an undisclosed country. they’ll make sure to delete any documentation, so when this is all over, those disappeared might not be found and left to rot in a slave camp.

  • flandish@lemmy.world
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    23 hours ago

    Nazis gonna nazi. Citizenship should be immutable once gained. Especially if someone has revoked prior citizenship; you cannot leave someone stateless.

    These fucking nazis running things are not people.

    • hddsx@lemmy.ca
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      22 hours ago

      I disagree on a technicality. You should be able to give up your own citizenship.

      • iknowitwheniseeit@lemmynsfw.com
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        2 hours ago

        It depends on context.

        Portugal only has one border, with Spain. Spain is much bigger in all ways, and they don’t want people to be coerced into giving up their Portugese citizenship, so they made it impossible. I am basically okay with this

  • fartographer@lemmy.world
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    22 hours ago

    Calling it right now: Mamdani’s primaries win made this a priority and they wanna try to pressure him into stepping down, or just revoke his citizenship.

    Any other citizens they hurt along the way are just little treats they give themselves for being such good little boys and girlsnon-boys. ^(Gotta protect that research funding)^

      • fartographer@lemmy.world
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        11 hours ago

        GREAT! WAY TO PROVE ME WRONG AND SHOW THAT YOU KNOW HOW TIME WORKS! EVERYONE LOOK AT HOW SMART THETETRAPOD IS, KNOWING THINGS AND STUFF!

        For serious, though, good catch and thanks for calling me out on that. I was so hellbent on my rationalization that I didn’t even consider that things could have happened in a different order or that dates could have had meaning. As much as I like to fly off the handle, I really appreciate y’all who keep me in check.

  • logicbomb@lemmy.world
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    22 hours ago

    It’s meant to strip citizenship from those who may have lied about their criminal convictions or membership in illegal groups like the Nazi party, or communists during McCarthyism, on their citizenship applications.

    While I disagree with denaturalization, I’d accept it if it meant that this reasoning became universal. If you lied while taking an oath that gives you special status, then your special status will be revoked.

    Since virtually all Republican politicians lied in their oaths of office to defend the constitution, we could sue to have them removed.

  • Mohamed@lemmy.ca
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    19 hours ago

    I think that revoking a citizen’s citizenship should only be decidable by the supreme court, and there needs to be a new trial for every single time the DOJ tries to revoke the citizenship of a citizen.

    I think that because that means every triaé must be taken very seriously, and there cannot be summary revocations.

      • DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works
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        4 hours ago

        As corrupt as they are, its still better chance than 1 man deciding it.

        Wong Kim Ark decision happened around the same time as the “Separate But Equal” pro-segregation ruling happened, just to give some perspective.

    • iknowitwheniseeit@lemmynsfw.com
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      2 hours ago

      It lists a whole bunch of reasonable things to prioritize, but then ends with:

      Any other cases referred to the Civil Division that the Division determines to be sufficiently important to pursue.