Trump Threatens to Strip Naturalized Citizens If They “Deserve” It

Trump is raising serious alarms after saying he would strip naturalized Americans of their U.S. citizenship if they “deserve” it, a statement that has immigration lawyers and immigrant communities questioning just how permanent citizenship really is under his administration.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has intensified his immigration crackdown and expanded it beyond undocumented immigrants. He is now openly discussing denaturalization, a rare legal process that removes citizenship from people who were born outside the U.S. but later became Americans. His comments come as his administration continues investigations tied to fraud cases in Minnesota, where Trump has repeatedly singled out the Somali community while framing the issue as a broader threat to the country.

In a recent interview, Trump said he would strip citizenship “in a heartbeat” if someone was dishonest and added that if people deserve to be stripped, he would do it. He did not explain what qualifies as deserving, nor did he clarify whether he was referring to existing legal standards or a new interpretation under his administration. That lack of clarity is what has experts most concerned.

Immigration attorneys point out that under U.S. law, denaturalization is only allowed in very narrow circumstances. The government must prove that someone lied or committed fraud during the naturalization process, such as hiding a serious crime or using false information to gain citizenship. It is not a punishment for crimes committed after becoming a citizen, and it is not meant to be a political tool.

Despite that, internal guidance within immigration agencies reportedly pushes for a dramatic increase in denaturalization cases in the coming years. Historically, stripping someone of citizenship has been extremely rare.