The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a record 25 denaturalization cases over a two-week period between July 20 and Aug. 3, marking the “largest denaturalization effort ever,” according to the department.
The denaturalization complaints were filed in multiple district courts against people alleged to have carried out various serious offenses, including assault, attempted murder, battery, and sexual assault, the DOJ said in an Aug. 3 statement.
According to the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized person’s U.S. citizenship can be removed and the certificate of naturalization canceled if their naturalization was obtained illegally or secured by concealing certain facts or through willful misrepresentation.
One of the accused, Tatiana Power, 46, originally from Moldova, was naturalized in 2010.
In 2021, Power was accused of participating in the business of selling videos and images depicting sexual abuse against children. Power admitted her part in such activities prior to gaining U.S. citizenship, the DOJ said.
The federal government is seeking Power’s denaturalization due to her criminal acts and the misrepresentations used to obtain her naturalization.
In another case, Jose Luis Martinez-Zavala, 80, originally from Mexico, was naturalized in 2014. According to the department, during naturalization, Martinez-Zavala failed to reveal that he had earlier committed aggravated sexual assault of a child in 2010.
In 2020, Martinez-Zavala was convicted of the offense. During naturalization, Martinez-Zavala swore he had not committed a crime for which he had been arrested, the DOJ said.
Another defendant, Dwyane Robinson, 44, originally from Jamaica, had shot and attempted to kill a man, for which he was convicted of attempted first-degree murder.
Robinson was previously naturalized on the basis of his military service. But in 2013, while awaiting trial for his crimes, he was discharged from the U.S. Army. Last month, the DOJ filed to denaturalize Robinson.
An individual’s naturalization can be revoked either through civil proceedings or pursuant to a criminal conviction, according to a July 13 update from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The government holds a high burden of proof when filing such cases.
For civil revocations, the government must provide “clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence which does not leave the issue in doubt,” USCIS said. For criminal revocations, the burden of proof is the same as in other criminal cases—the proof must be beyond a reasonable doubt.
USCIS refers cases for civil revocation when the applicant obtained naturalization illegally, concealed critical information, or willfully misrepresented facts during the naturalization process.
