India born man among 12 Americans at risk of denaturalization as Trump admin seeks to revoke their citizenship

The United States Department of Justice under the administration of Donald Trump said it is pursuing the revocation of citizenship for 12 naturalized Americans whom officials allege committed offences that make them eligible for denaturalization, according to ABC News.

The Justice Department, in a statement issued on Friday, mentioned it had filed denaturalization cases against the individuals in courts across the United States.

The naturalized US citizens facing action from the United States Department of Justice are originally from Bolivia, Colombia, Nigeria, Somalia, Morocco, Uzbekistan, Iran, India and China. Some have been convicted of crimes in the United States, others are accused of offences in their countries of origin, while the remaining individuals are alleged to have committed immigration fraud.

The action marks the latest step in the federal government’s broader effort to strip citizenship from foreign-born Americans accused of obtaining US citizenship through fraud or misrepresentation, as per the report.

"Individuals implicated in committing fraud, heinous crimes such as sexual abuse, or expressing support for terrorism should never have been naturalized as United States citizens," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche mentioned in a statement.

He added, “The Trump administration is taking action to correct these egregious violations of our immigration system. Those who intentionally concealed their criminal histories or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process will face the fullest extent of the law.”

Indian-American goes through denaturalization proceedings in US

Debashis Ghosh, a 62-year-old India-born man who later became a US citizen, is facing proceedings to revoke his citizenship after authorities alleged that he helped orchestrate a USD 2.5 million investment fraud and failed to disclose the information to federal officials, as per PTI.

Ghosh, whose last known address was in Cook County, first entered the United States in the early 1990s on various non-immigrant visas and was naturalized as a US citizen in 2012. He is one of 12 individuals against whom the United States Department of Justice has filed denaturalization cases in federal district courts. The group faces allegations involving serious offences, including providing support to a terrorist organization, committing war crimes and sexually abusing a minor.

The United States Department of Justice alleged that Debashis Ghosh took part in a scheme to defraud investors of USD 2.5 million meant for the construction of an aircraft maintenance facility before he became a US citizen.

According to the department, Ghosh continued the scheme even after obtaining citizenship, allegedly misleading investors about where the funds were being kept and how they were being safeguarded. During his 2012 naturalization application and interview, he stated that he had never committed a crime for which he had not been arrested.

The complaint seeking to revoke his citizenship contends that Ghosh is eligible for denaturalization because he allegedly committed a crime involving moral turpitude during the period when he was required to prove good moral character, engaged in unlawful conduct that reflected adversely on his character, and gave false testimony about the offence.

The Justice Department also alleged that he knowingly concealed this material information during the naturalization process.

Meanwhile, according to the National Immigration Forum, citizenship can be revoked only through a court order. US Citizenship and Immigration Services refers cases to the Justice Department for civil or criminal denaturalization when there is “sufficient evidence” that a person may be subject to one of the legal grounds for losing citizenship, the report noted.

If a person's US citizenship is revoked, they revert to the immigration status they held before becoming a citizen, the group said. Those who no longer have lawful immigration status may be deported, and in some cases, individuals may also face imprisonment if the revocation is linked to a criminal conviction.