Restore Justice for Naturalized U.S. Citizens

I write today as a concerned constituent to urge you to take immediate action to protect our naturalized fellow citizens from a deeply troubling shift in U.S. Department of Justice policy—a shift that threatens to strip individuals of their citizenship over minor past tax mistakes committed before they became U.S. citizens. According to a June 11, 2025 DOJ memorandum issued by Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, denaturalization has been elevated to one of the Civil Division’s top five enforcement priorities. In addition to traditional grounds like terrorism, war crimes, or human trafficking, the DOJ now includes financial fraud, Medicare/Medicaid fraud, PPP-program violations, and various tax-related offenses—even old or inadvertent ones—as basis for stripping citizenship. The website IMI Daily reports that even a single unreported tax form or calculation error made years before naturalization could now result in denaturalization. The DOJ is applying civil enforcement with no statute of limitations, no jury trial, no appointed counsel, and a low evidentiary standard. This represents a radical shift from past precedent, under which denaturalization was reserved for extreme misconduct such as espionage or genocide. One disturbing example is the case of Vanessa Ben, a lawful naturalized citizen who had served a year in prison and paid fines for filing a false tax return she committed before gaining citizenship. The DOJ still initiated denaturalization proceedings on the theory that she failed to disclose the past crime and therefore lacked “good moral character” at the time of her naturalization. This policy is disproportionate, authoritarian, and cruel. It creates two classes of U.S. citizenship: native-born Americans who commit tax fraud face criminal proceedings; naturalized citizens who commit the same acts—even long ago—risk losing their status altogether. This undermines the constitutional principle that all citizens are equal under the law. I urge you to take the following steps immediately: • Speak out publicly against this dangerous expansion of denaturalization powers. • Hold oversight hearings to investigate the DOJ’s new priorities and their implications for civil liberties. • Support or introduce legislation to prohibit denaturalization for non-violent financial violations or minor pre-naturalization errors. • Establish a reasonable statute of limitations on denaturalization claims and ensure all individuals are guaranteed due process, including the right to counsel and a jury trial. There are nearly 25 million naturalized U.S. citizens—roughly 7 percent of the population—whose security and dignity depend on Congress restoring balance to this enforcement approach. I hope you will act now to defend their rights and uphold the fairness of our naturalization system.