The Trump administration continues its efforts to revoke the U.S. citizenship of a record number of individuals. Recently, 10 new cases have been announced against individuals accused of crimes or immigration fraud. Under President Donald Trump, there has been a significant push to increase denaturalizations. The law imposes strict requirements for stripping U.S. citizenship, resulting in relatively few cases annually. However, the administration has made a concerted effort to file numerous cases, targeting those it believes have fraudulently obtained citizenship.
Details of the New Cases
A list released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) outlines the new cases. The individuals, all accused or convicted of various crimes before their citizenship applications, come from diverse countries, including Mexico, Cuba, Pakistan, Peru, and Poland. Newsweek attempted to obtain attorney details for the defendants, but public records did not list these details at publication.
“We refuse to give a free pass to criminals who cheated their way into American citizenship,” Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate stated. “Under this administration, if you defrauded the naturalization process, you will face the full force of the Justice Department. We’ve only scratched the surface—many more complaints are coming.”
Cases of Alleged Criminal Activity
The DOJ and DHS list includes several Mexican nationals. These cases involve serious allegations, such as child sexual abuse and providing false documents during naturalization.
For instance:
- Urbano Vazquez Ortega, a former Mexican priest naturalized in 2017, was convicted in 2019 for multiple counts of child sexual abuse.
- Francisco Montano faced convictions for aggravated sexual assault. The crimes reportedly happened five years before he gained citizenship in 1997.
- Peruvian native Jimmy Aguero was sentenced for the sexual abuse of his minor stepdaughter.
- Martin Garcia Cardiel, who became a citizen in 2011, faced 19 counts related to child sexual abuse from 2007.
Fraud and Identity Allegations
Other cases revolve around fraud or identity misuse.
- Yoskmaikel Rodriguez Perez, originally from Cuba, hides a significant Medicare fraud scheme before naturalization in 2018.
- Murtaza Ali from Pakistan allegedly used multiple aliases to obtain immigration benefits.
- Antonio Alcantara-Ruiz, a Mexican national, secured citizenship using purchased identity documents.
- Ceflo Luviano-Mojica, another Mexican national, denied prior arrests on his application.
Additional allegations involve drug trafficking and financial crimes. Omar Cantu-Montalvo pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking, and Marcin Stanislaw Garbacz, from Poland, faced convictions for wire fraud and tax offenses.
Understanding Denaturalization
The government argues these individuals gained citizenship through illegal means or misrepresented material facts during their application process. Civil denaturalization complaints in federal court aim to revoke these individuals’ citizenship. This action could lead to their reclassification as noncitizens and expose them to deportation.
“When you commit fraud during the naturalization process, you forfeit the right to keep your U.S. citizenship,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. “These criminal aliens, comprised of drug traffickers, pedophiles, and fraudsters, lost that right and exploited our immigration system—harming real U.S. citizens. DHS is committed to ensuring we denaturalize and remove these fraudsters with every tool at our disposal.”
Despite the political discourse, denaturalization cases remain rare. From 1990 to 2017, there were about 11 cases annually, as reported by the Brennan Center for Justice. During Trump’s presidency, this number rose to 25 cases per year, still a small fraction among over 24 million naturalized citizens.