The Department of Justice filed denaturalization actions against 40 naturalized U.S. citizens, accusing them of concealing material facts or committing serious crimes. The complaints, filed from Aug. 21 through Oct. 2, 2026, ask federal courts to revoke citizenship. They do not mean citizenship has already been taken away.
The department’s announcement page carries an Oct. 4, 2026, publication date, while its account describes the announcement as Monday, October 5. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a separate announcement on October 22, saying it had partnered with the department on the filings.
The cases involve allegations of espionage, sexual offenses, immigration fraud and violent crimes. The department described the filings as the largest volume of complaints submitted in a single period under the Trump administration.
Attorney General Todd Blanche called the effort the “largest denaturalization effort in modern history.” He said defendants had hidden critical facts from the government. Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, who leads the Civil Division, said the administration would keep pursuing the cases.
“Our message is clear: the United States will not tolerate deception in the naturalization process”
The department said the Immigration and Nationality Act allows a federal court to revoke citizenship if naturalization was illegally obtained or secured by hiding a material fact or willfully misrepresenting information. The cases remain allegations. No liability has been determined.
The filings name citizens from at least 20 countries
The defendants come from at least 20 countries, according to the department. Mexico accounts for 11 people; Pakistan and China have four each. Egypt, Nigeria, the Philippines and Ghana have two apiece.
India, Peru, Sierra Leone, Venezuela, the United Kingdom, Cambodia and Haiti each appear once in the listed breakdown. One person’s origin is listed as unknown. The defendants range in age from 26 to 76.
Eight defendants are from five African countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Sierra Leone and Egypt. The complaints describe differing alleged omissions and immigration histories.
Nigerian nationals Beatrice Chioma Nwaoha Ashamole, 54, and Semiu Olaiye Ijelu, 58, face claims involving prior immigration records. Ashamole’s complaint, filed Sept. 25 in the District of Maryland, says she failed to disclose aliases, arrests, an earlier immigration benefits application, and prior exclusions and deportations, despite questions on the application.
Ijelu’s case is in the Northern District of Georgia. The government alleges he used two identities to seek immigration benefits and concealed a removal order before naturalizing in 2009. It also says he failed to disclose the order when he sought permanent residence after marrying a U.S. citizen.
Ghanaian nationals Francis Darko Asamoah, 56, and Dexter Anson, 72, are accused of concealing information. Asamoah’s complaint, filed Sept. 30 in the Eastern District of Virginia, says he told naturalization interviewers in 2013 that he had no children. A Virginia birth certificate named him as the father of a child born in July 2011; the child’s mother was not his U.S. citizen spouse. USCIS said the claimed omission prevented investigators from examining the legitimacy of the marriage.
Anson allegedly hid a deportation order issued under the identity George Opoku, both on a diversity visa application and at his naturalization interview. His case is in the District of Connecticut.
Cameroonian Anita Moanjeh Atem, 48, is accused of concealing sexual abuse of a minor, a family or household member in her care, between 2004 and 2007. She naturalized in 2009 and was later convicted of sexual abuse of a minor under Maryland law. Her complaint was filed Sept. 25 in the District of Maryland.
Sierra Leonean Ifeolu Samuel Akingbemisilu, 58, allegedly entered the United States as Anthony Davies, was ordered removed, then returned with a fraudulent British passport. The government says he naturalized through marriage to a U.S. citizen in 2008 without disclosing the removal order. His complaint was filed Sept. 18 in the Northern District of Georgia.
Egyptian nationals Walid Abdelnabbi Hassan Osman, 62, and Nadia Hassan Mohamed Ali are named in cases in the Eastern District of Virginia. Osman allegedly worked as a taxi driver while holding H-1B status and gave false testimony about his employment history. Ali is accused of filing fraudulent H-1B petitions through a company with no genuine business activity and misrepresenting her work history during naturalization.
Other complaints cite espionage, fraud and concealed crimes
The cases include convictions as well as allegations about naturalization applications. Chinese-born former U.S. Navy serviceman Jinchao Wei, 26, was convicted of espionage in August 2025 and sentenced to 200 months in prison after allegedly selling military secrets to China. He naturalized two months after enlisting.
Ping Li, 61, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China. He allegedly passed information about dissidents, Falun Gong members and U.S.-based organizations to Chinese state security services.
Iain Lumsden, 50, a British national, pleaded guilty Aug. 27, 2021, to transporting a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and received a 108-month federal prison sentence. The complaint says he admitted to law enforcement on Aug. 11, 2020, that he had viewed child pornography five to ten years earlier and searched for it before naturalizing. He was charged Dec. 2, 2020, under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252(a)(1) and 2252(b)(1).
Yusmary Shirley Duran Mejia, 47, of Colombia, was convicted in 2020 of conspiracy to commit money laundering under 18 U.S.C. § 1956. Her complaint, filed Aug. 31 in the Southern District of Florida, says she admitted the conduct predated her 2018 naturalization. Indian national Balwinder Singh, 55, allegedly submitted an immigration application under that name in 1992, gained permanent residence in 2003 under a different identity, then naturalized under that identity in 2009. Fingerprints linked the applications, and the complaint alleges seven counts of misrepresentations and unlawful acts.
Other complaints name Douglas Chukwuka Eze, whose nationality is listed as unknown. He used another person’s stolen identity and birth certificate and was convicted in 2023 of two counts of false swearing in an immigration matter. Mexican national Gume Roberto Garza, 59, allegedly used another person’s identity, Social Security number and date of birth, while concealing his identity and criminal history.
Mexican national Ramiro Escot Esparza, 60, naturalized in 2009 and pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual abuse of a minor shortly afterward. Cuban national Javier Marrero-Pando, 60, pleaded guilty to aggravated sodomy involving a special-needs man and was sentenced to life imprisonment, with all but 15 years suspended. Mexican national Jose Ramiro Montiel Carrasco, 57, was later convicted of sexual battery and an incestuous act after concealing sexual abuse of a minor and an incestuous act before naturalization.
The list also names Pakistani nationals Ahmad Bahar Khattak, 69, Ahmed Khan, 73, and Syed Mashood Ul Haque, 66. Khattak, who naturalized March 20, 2008, allegedly used dual identities for decades to evade deportation and obtain immigration benefits while concealing an earlier exclusion order.
Khan naturalized in 2008 after allegedly obtaining a false death certificate for his living Pakistani wife. He married a U.S. citizen and used that marriage to obtain permanent residence and citizenship. Ul Haque allegedly used two identities, overstayed a tourist visa, evaded deportation and later concealed his immigration history while obtaining citizenship.
Filipino national Arnel Dacumos Tabafunda, 47, naturalized in September 2005 and was later sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually abusing a child under 13. Norma Patricia Esparza, a Mexican national, is also named.
The filing pace far exceeds the historical average
Federal courts handled an average of 11 denaturalization cases per year between 1990 and 2017, according to data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. The current batch was filed over six weeks.
The Department of Homeland Security was directed to refer between 100 and 200 cases monthly to the department during fiscal year 2026. Officials had identified 384 potential targets as of April 2026. Human rights organizations and legal experts have raised concerns that denaturalization could leave people stateless and may disproportionately affect particular communities.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
