WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration said on Tuesday it was auditing immigration cases involving US citizens of Somali origin to detect fraud that could lead to denaturalisation, or revocation of citizenship.
“Under US law, if an individual procures citizenship on a fraudulent basis, that is grounds for denaturalisation,” Homeland security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that was first reported by Fox News and reposted by the White House on social media.
Denaturalisation cases are rare and can take years. According to the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, about 11 cases were pursued per year between 1990 and 2017.