The Justice Department issued a memo directing US attorneys to “prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings” as part of an effort by the Trump administration to crack down on crime. 

The memo from Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate states that denaturalization 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” are one of the key priorities. 

“The benefits of civil denaturalization include the government’s ability to revoke the citizenship of individuals who engaged in the commission of war crimes, extrajudicial killings, or other serious human rights abuses; to remove naturalized criminals, gang members, or, indeed, any individuals convicted of crimes who pose an ongoing threat to the United States; and to prevent convicted terrorists from returning to U.S. soil or traveling internationally on a U.S. passport,” Shumate wrote. 

“The Department of Justice may institute civil proceedings to revoke a person’s United States citizenship if an individual either ‘illegally procured’ naturalization or procured naturalization by ‘concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation,’” he added in the June 11 directive. 

Shumate wants the Justice Department to “prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence.”  (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

It also calls for attorneys to initiate cases against “individuals who further or furthered the unlawful enterprise of criminal gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and drug cartels” and “individuals who engaged in fraud against private individuals, funds, or corporations.” 

Overall, the memo lists ten priority categories for denaturalization. 

Assistant Attorney Brett Shumate speaks during the investiture ceremony for U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden April 13, 2018, at the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC.  (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Two days after issuing the memo, the Justice Department said it “secured the denaturalization of a convicted collector and distributor of child sexual abuse material.”