--- title: "Justice Department Seeks to Strip Citizenship From 40 Naturalized Americans" description: "The cases, filed in 19 federal courts over six weeks, accuse defendants of hiding crimes from espionage to tax evasion when they naturalized." author: "rews desk" published: 2026-10-06T00:02:23Z modified: 2026-10-06T02:24:04Z url: https://rews.cc/a/justice-department-seeks-to-strip-citizenship-from-40-natura-38c30e language: en tags: ["trump", "immigration", "law", "security", "denaturalisation", "us"] publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)" --- # Justice Department Seeks to Strip Citizenship From 40 Naturalized Americans *The cases, filed in 19 federal courts over six weeks, accuse defendants of hiding crimes from espionage to tax evasion when they naturalized.* By rews desk · October 6, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/justice-department-seeks-to-strip-citizenship-from-40-natura-38c30e ## In brief - The Justice Department said Monday it filed civil cases to revoke the citizenship of 40 naturalized Americans - Complaints were filed in 19 federal district courts between Aug. 21 and Oct. 2, citing crimes from espionage to tax fraud - The law requires proof that citizenship was obtained illegally or through concealment or willful misrepresentation - Defendants include former Navy sailor Jinchao Wei, convicted of espionage and sentenced to 200 months - The department filed 305 denaturalization cases from 1990 to 2017, about 11 a year, the National Immigration Forum says The Justice Department said on Monday that it had filed civil cases to revoke the citizenship of 40 naturalized Americans accused of crimes from spying for China to tax evasion, the most the Trump administration has announced at once. The complaints were filed in 19 federal district courts, from California to Connecticut, between Aug. 21 and Oct. 2, according to the [department’s statement](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-moves-strip-citizenship-40-criminals-largest-single-period). The accusations include voluntary manslaughter, aggravated sodomy, sexual abuse of minors, money laundering, health care and securities fraud, firearms offenses and visa, passport and marriage fraud. “Today’s announcement marks the largest denaturalization effort in modern history,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the statement. He said the defendants “concealed critical facts from the U.S. government and represent serious criminal offenders.” Brett A. Shumate, the assistant attorney general who leads the department’s Civil Division, went further. “Every single one of these individuals lied their way into U.S. citizenship,” he said, adding that “the United States will not tolerate deception in the naturalization process.” A crime alone doesn’t cost anyone citizenship. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the government has to show that naturalization was “illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.” So each complaint rests on what the defendant told, or kept from, immigration officials before taking the oath. The department’s release says the complaints are allegations only and that no liability has been determined. The best-known defendant is Jinchao Wei, a former Navy sailor who became a citizen in May 2022 through the military’s expedited naturalization process. The government says he hid a scheme to sell military secrets to China. He was later convicted of espionage and sentenced to 200 months in prison. The case against him was filed Sept. 30 in the Southern District of California. Ping Li, who pleaded guilty in 2024 to working for China’s Ministry of State Security without notifying the attorney general, faces a one-count complaint filed Oct. 1 in the Middle District of Florida. It says he lacked attachment to the principles of the Constitution. Others are accused of crimes that had nothing to do with national security. Javier Marrero-Pando denied under oath at his October 2020 naturalization interview that he had committed any crime he hadn’t been arrested for, according to a complaint filed in the Middle District of Georgia. Months earlier, the government says, he had committed aggravated sodomy against a special-needs man. Norma Patricia Esparza is accused in the Central District of California of hiding a voluntary manslaughter she committed before naturalizing. She was later sentenced to six years. Then there’s the money. Ralph Nabavi, who naturalized in 2014, began evading taxes before he became a citizen, according to a complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida. He later pleaded guilty in a case involving about $12.5 million in unreported income. The filing window in the release doesn’t quite match its own list. At least one complaint, against Douglas Chukwuka Eze, is dated Aug. 10, 11 days before the period the department described. Al Jazeera described the laws behind the cases as rarely invoked. Between 1990 and 2017, the department filed 305 denaturalization cases, an average of about 11 a year, according to a [fact sheet from the National Immigration Forum](https://forumtogether.org/article/denaturalization-fact-sheet/). The Trump administration has now announced 40 in a single statement. The record doesn’t last long. In early August, the department [announced 25 complaints](https://x.com/TheJusticeDept/status/2084395627564110236) filed since July 20, and called that its largest effort at the time. The [Washington Examiner](https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/immigration/4753975/doj-strips-us-citizenship-from-40-alleged-criminals/) called Monday’s batch the biggest denaturalization action of Mr. Trump’s presidency so far. Mr. Blanche said the department would keep using denaturalization to protect national security and the public. Mr. Shumate said the administration intends to continue what he called the largest such effort in the department’s history.