This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UVA chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.
Is Trump deporting US citizens?
Trump has threatened to denaturalize certain foreign-born United States citizens as part of his immigration crackdown. This began when many fraudulent schemes having to do with government agencies were found in Minnesota, involving individuals of Somali descent. Instead of targeting the specific individuals who caused this, Trump attacked the entire Somali community, saying they must leave. As of November 2025, Trump has terminated the Temporary Protected Status Program for Somalis in Minnesota. After a National Guard member was killed in DC, he ordered a re-examination of green card holders from 19 countries, this was later expanded to 39 countries including: Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria.
These events pushed the Trump Administration to create monthly quotas of 100-200 denaturalization cases per month. For reference, before Trump’s first term there were an average of 11 cases annually and before 2026 42 cases were filed annually during his presidency. All this to say that denaturalization cases were very rare.
But is it even legal to denaturalize a citizen?
In short: yes.
But this is only if the foreign-born citizen intentionally misrepresented themselves on their naturalization application or examination, got their citizenship illegally, or were affiliated with the Communist Party or terrorist organization within five years of their naturalization. That means that if a naturalized citizen were to commit a crime after becoming a citizen, they couldn’t be denaturalized. Proving intentionality is extremely difficult, making the success of these already rare cases extraordinary. If they are denaturalized, most of these people will revert to green card holder status, meaning they can be deported.
That being said, the fear is that with the new pressure of monthly quotas, the Trump Administration will start looking at minute mistakes as grounds for de-naturalizing citizens. The real test will be whether due process and equal protection can withstand an enforcement approach motivated by numerical targets.