Denaturalization by Memo: When Citizenship Becomes Conditional
A new DOJ policy opens the door to multi-tiered citizenship—where naturalized Americans face second-class treatment, vulnerable to revocation by bureaucratic discretion.
Introduction: The Memo That Should Alarm Us All
In June 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a memo dramatically expanding the scope and priorities of denaturalization enforcement. While framed as a tool for national security and public integrity, the policy opens the door to a dangerous precedent: the bureaucratic revocation of citizenship based on vague, discretionary standards.
This isn’t about catching war criminals. This is about normalizing tiered citizenship, where naturalized Americans — unlike those born on U.S. soil — may be stripped of their status through civil proceedings, often without the full protections of due process. It is a quiet shift with loud historical echoes.
The Legal Shift: Civil, Discretionary, and Dangerous
Denaturalization is not new, but under previous administrations, it was narrowly applied—almost exclusively in cases involving fraud, misrepresentation, or participation in genocide or terrorism. One of the most high-profile examples is that of Jakiw Palij, a former Nazi concentration camp guard who immigrated to the U.S. in 1949, was naturalized in 1957, denaturalized in 2003, and ultimately deported to Germany in 2018, where he died the following year in a nursing home after Germany declined to prosecute him due to his advanced age, and both mental and physical decline.
In contrast, the Trump-era Department of Justice established a dedicated Denaturalization Section in 2020, and in 2025, that effort was revived and significantly broadened.
The key change? Denaturalization is now prioritized for “certain crimes” and “other serious conduct,” granting the DOJ broad discretion to determine what qualifies as grounds for revocation.
Unlike criminal prosecutions:
These are civil cases, meaning there is no right to a public defender.
The standard is “clear and convincing evidence,” not “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
There is no jury—just a federal judge.
The burden often shifts onto the defendant to prove their innocence.
"DOJ's civil approach to denaturalization may be used as a political tool... targeting naturalized citizens with minimal accountability." — Project On Government Oversight (POGO), June 2025
Historical Parallels: Bureaucracy as a Weapon
In Nazi Germany, the 1933 Law on the Revocation of Naturalization and the Annulment of German Citizenship allowed bureaucrats to strip Jews, political opponents, and other "undesirables" of their citizenship through paperwork. No trial, no appeal. Just a list.
It is this procedural eeriness—the use of administrative mechanisms to quietly erase belonging—that should make the DOJ’s 2025 memo feel like more than a policy update. The language is sanitized, but the implications are chilling. When citizenship can be revoked through civil action, without affording the accused their full rights, the line between democratic governance and authoritarian control begins to blur.
Bureaucratic revocation of citizenship wasn’t how Nazi persecution ended. It’s how it began. The memo’s civil framing—absent jury trials, public defenders, or “beyond a reasonable doubt” safeguards—creates a dangerous precedent: a second-class, revocable citizenship for naturalized Americans. It mimics, disturbingly, the regulatory logic used in 1930s Germany.
In the U.S., denaturalization has also been misused in the past:
Post-WWI: Targeting labor organizers, socialists, and anarchists.
Post-9/11: Muslims were disproportionately flagged for minor application discrepancies or old misdemeanors.
Today, a memo could quietly return us to that same logic: citizenship as a privilege to be revoked, not a commitment to be protected.
This legalistic machinery created the appearance of due process while enabling ideological purges. Statelessness was not a side effect — it was the goal.
What This Policy Is Really About
This isn’t about justice. It’s about chilling dissent and reinforcing the message that naturalized citizens are second-tier. The ambiguity of “certain crimes” allows for selective, politically motivated enforcement, where simply being an outspoken immigrant could invite scrutiny.
Just days after the DOJ memo surfaced, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) publicly called for the denaturalization and deportation of Zohran Mamdani, a naturalized citizen and rising political figure in New York City. Ogles used openly racist and condescending language, calling Mamdani “little Muhammad” and referencing his political affiliations as justification for revoking his citizenship: no crime, no fraud—just disagreement.
This is how the narrative gets tested. The policy chills speech, and the rhetoric nudges the boundaries of what is considered acceptable—what political scientists call the Overton window, the range of ideas society deems legitimate or mainstream.
That’s what this policy is really about: making naturalized citizens think twice before they speak, run for office, or demand accountability—especially if they’re not white, wealthy, or ideologically compliant.
I’m Not Afraid—And I Won’t Be Quiet
I’ve been a U.S. citizen for nearly 40 years. I was naturalized while serving in the U.S. Army in Louisiana, where I rose to the rank of Sergeant. Later, after attending college and participating in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC), I served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy. I’ve worked continuously since I was 13, built a life, raised a family, and contributed to this country in every way expected of a citizen. I earned my place here, not through privilege, but through service, hard work, and dedication.
Now I’m being told that my status is still contingent. That after nearly four decades, my citizenship could still be unraveled through a bureaucratic memo. That’s not just an insult to me—it’s a betrayal of every person who raised their right hand and swore an oath to this nation.
Well, I will not go silent. And neither should you.
What Can Be Done
Call this what it is: a bureaucratic attack on permanent citizenship.
Pressure elected officials to demand oversight and limit DOJ discretion. You can find and contact your representatives here:
Support legal organizations actively pushing back against these policies:
Write, speak, and stay loud. If they want silence, give them noise.
Sources
The Guardian: Trump’s DOJ expands citizenship stripping powers
Justice.gov Denaturalization Cases Archive (archived, now deprecated) — Previously available via justice.gov, now marked as outdated, archived content with limited functionality. This removal coincides with an expansion of denaturalization powers, raising concerns over transparency.]
Encyclopedia of the Holocaust: Revocation of Citizenship in Nazi Germany