DOJ Seeks Denaturalization of ~400 US Citizens in Record-Setting Campaign; Afghan US Allies Face Deportation to Third Countries

The Justice Department announced it was pursuing denaturalization proceedings against nearly 400 naturalized US citizens — which officials described as the highest volume of denaturalization referrals in US history. Targets were primarily foreign-born naturalized citizens; the DOJ cited fraud in naturalization applications, national security grounds, and criminal convictions. Civil liberties groups warned the unprecedented scale represented a weaponization of denaturalization as an immigration enforcement tool. Separately, approximately 1,000 Afghan refugees who aided US forces during the Afghanistan war were reported stranded in Qatar, with US authorities reportedly considering deporting some to the Democratic Republic of Congo or other third countries rather than admitting them to the United States. Advocacy groups, including veterans' organizations that served alongside Afghan allies, condemned the policy as a betrayal of those who risked their lives for US forces. The announcements came as Philadelphia City Council passed legislation restricting ICE cooperation — banning agents from hospitals and libraries and protecting personal data — and as approximately 200 immigrants at North Lake ICE detention facility in Michigan launched hunger and labor strikes over medical neglect.