Law used to kick out Nazis could be used to strip citizenship from many more Americans

For decades, the US Department of Justice has used a tool to sniff out former Nazis who lied their way into becoming American citizens: a law that allowed the department to denaturalize, or strip, citizenship from criminals who falsified their records or hid their illicit pasts.

For decades, the US Department of Justice has used a tool to sniff out former Nazis who lied their way into becoming American citizens: a law that allowed the department to denaturalize, or strip, citizenship from criminals who falsified their records or hid their illicit pasts. That power, under the new Trump administration, may be broadening. According to a memo issued by the Justice Department last month, attorneys should aim their denaturalization work to target a much broader swath of individuals – anyone who may “pose a potential danger to national security.” The directive appears to be a push towards a larger denaturalization effort that fits with the Trump administration’s hardline immigration policies. These could leave some of the millions of naturalized American citizens at risk of losing their status and being deported. People who have committed violent crimes, are members or associates of gangs and drug cartels or have committed fraud should also be prioritized, the memo, issued by the head of the DOJ’s Civil Division, said. But for many officials and experts, the real concern, they say, is that it is designed to strike fear in the hearts of legal immigrants across the country – particularly those who are at odds with Trump himself.