Green card holders who have become American citizens are at risk of losing their US citizenship. The US Department of Justice has set a top priority for the revocation of US citizenship and prioritizing denaturalization, as outlined in a recently issued memorandum to enforcement authorities.
Naturalization is the process of granting US citizenship to lawful permanent residents (LPRs) or green card holders who meet Congress’s and INA’s requirements, allowing them to legally reside permanently within the U.S.
Denaturalization is the official revocation of a person’s U.S. citizenship, resulting from illegal acquisition or deliberate misrepresentation during application and examination, or if material facts are not disclosed.
Past cases show that war criminals or those who were threats to national security were subject to denaturalization to strip them of their US citizenship.
Denaturalization for under-reporting income
Bloomberg Law reported that under President Trump’s administration, under-reporting income on a tax return could result in being declared a non-US citizen.
The Justice Department has increased denaturalization as one of five enforcement priorities for its Civil Division, targeting individuals in 10 priority areas and ‘any other cases’ deemed sufficiently important to pursue.
The Real Case
Bloomer law refers to a case where prosecutors asked a court to strip a Houston citizen of her citizenship after she pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return over five years ago. The citizen had been through a lengthy process to obtain citizenship.
In 2019, she was charged with tax fraud, pleading guilty to underreporting income and receiving a refund of $7,712, agreed to pay a fine, and was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is pursuing citizenship stripping for alleged cover-up of filing a false tax return, despite not being charged at the time.
But, citizens, including those who were green card holders, can be denaturalized in a civil case, which pertains to concealment or intentional misrepresentation of a material fact that would have prevented them from becoming citizens.