The Majority Whip (Tom Emmer) has called for Denaturalization and Deportation of every Somali engaged in fraud in Minnesota. My thoughts go back to 1981 and the denaturalization of John Demjanjuk in Chicago. Since his denaturalization is the only one I paid attention to, it provides the base for my thinking. Demajanjuk was a Ukrainian who had, during WWII worked for the German SS as a concentration camp guard. If the stories were correct, he was an awful SOB – but later Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that there was reasonable doubt, vacated his death sentence, and returned him to Chicago to appeal his denaturalization.
At the time, they emphasized that his denaturalization was not a punishment – he really had been a concentration camp guard, and he really did conceal that part of his resume when he came to the US. Denaturalization was just a correction – if he had admitted to working for the SS, he would not have been naturalized. Makes sense to me.
Basically – if I understand it correctly – denaturalization can be done if here has been any fraud in the process of becoming a US citizen. If we look at the idea of denaturalization of Ilhan Omar, the justification before 2025 would be based on items missed, or misrepresented in the process of her naturalization. I’m not sure that marrying her brother after becoming a US citizen is a reason to denaturalize her – it’s kind of weird, downright unusual, but it was not part of her naturalization. Anyway, the DOJ has expanded the justifications for denaturalization – and it includes a lot more reasons, which will be copied, italicized and left at the bottom of this article.
It looks like the rules changed a bit, or possibly how they are enforced – if Ilhan marrying her brother is sufficiently important to pursue, they can proceed with denaturalization. I kind of understand that section- most of my job descriptions included a phrase about “other duties as assigned.”
I think that our naturalized citizens are being held to a higher standard of conduct than we native born are. When I think back to the Nazi camp guards who lied to get American citizenship, that’s probably a good thing.
The Civil Division shall prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence. To promote the pursuit of all viable denaturalization cases available under 8 U.S.C. § 1451 and maintain the integrity of the naturalization system while simultaneously ensuring an appropriate allocation of resources, the Civil Division has established the following categories of priorities for denaturalization cases:
Any other cases referred to the Civil Division that the Division determines to be sufficiently important to pursue.
Cases against individuals who pose a potential danger to national security, including those with a nexus to terrorism, espionage, or the unlawful export from the United States of sensitive goods, technology, or information raising national security concerns;
Cases against individuals who engaged in torture, war crimes, or other human rights violations;
Cases against individuals who further or furthered the unlawful enterprise of criminal gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and drug cartels;
Cases against individuals who committed felonies that were not disclosed during the naturalization process;
Cases against individuals who committed human trafficking, sex offenses, or violent crimes;
Cases against individuals who engaged in various forms of financial fraud against the United States (including Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan fraud and Medicaid/Medicare fraud);
Cases against individuals who engaged in fraud against private individuals, funds, or corporations;
Cases against individuals who acquired naturalization through government corruption, fraud, or material misrepresentations, not otherwise addressed by another priority category;
Cases referred by a United States Attorney’s Office or in connection with pending criminal charges, if those charges do not fit within one of the other priorities; and
Any other cases referred to the Civil Division that the Division determines to be sufficiently important to pursue.
So it looks like the rules change – if Ilhan marrying her brother is sufficiently important to pursue, they can proceed with denaturalization. I kind of understand – most of my job descriptions included a phrase about “other duties as assigned.”
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