Trump Declares War On Citizenship!

If you thought that finally becoming a US citizen would make you safe, you are not alone. For most immigrants, citizenship has always been the finish line and the ultimate goal. It's the moment when you can finally exhale and call this your country. But what is happening right now should make every US citizen and every parent take notice.

Because for the first time in modern history, the government is not just going after green card holders or visa applicants. It's going after citizens, both those who were born here and those who naturalized. In January, Trump signed an executive order that changes how the government interprets the 14th Amendment.

Birthright Citizenship

The order says that some babies, even if they are born inside of the U.S., should not be granted birthright citizenship if their parents do not have the right immigration status. This goes against more than 100 years of how birthright citizenship has worked and will likely be found to be illegal. But on June 27th, the Supreme Court said that the policy can go forward for now while lawsuits continue against it in court.

This was not a final decision about whether or not the policy is legal.

It just means that until the courts make a final ruling, the federal government can go ahead and enforce this rule in those states that have not actually sued the government to block enacting this law. Many legal experts, including myself, believe that this executive order will eventually be struck down by the courts. Lawsuits are already moving forward. Civil rights groups are challenging this and some federal judges have already ruled against parts of this executive order.

Denaturalization

Now in addition to going after babies who are actually born in the U.S., the Trump administration is also going after U.S. citizens who have naturalized in the U.S. This process is called denaturalization, and it was recently made one of the top five priorities for the civil division of the Department of Justice. In a memo released last month, DOJ attorneys were told to pursue these cases maximally, which means in every situation allowed by law.

This applies to naturalized citizens, people who went through the process legally, passed the citizenship exam and test, took the oath, and have been living as U.S. citizens for sometimes years. So far, already one person has been denaturalized this year, and thousands of other cases are under review.

The government has outlined 10 categories of persons that they are looking at to denaturalize, which includes anyone who lied, left out important information, or made mistakes on their application, especially regarding their past immigration history or past arrest information.

People with undisclosed criminal records, even if the incident happened years before they applied, people accused of gang involvement, human trafficking, or violent crimes, even if these things happened after they became citizens, and anyone who committed immigration or financial fraud, including things like PPP loan fraud or Medicare fraud. You don't need to be convicted of a crime to be targeted. You simply need an accusation.

Civil violations, even allegations, can be enough to initiate a denaturalization lawsuit against you. And the memo gives prosecutors wide discretion to go after any case that they believe is important, even if it does not fall into these past categories mentioned.

In addition, denaturalization lawsuits are civil and not criminal cases, which means that you are not entitled to a free public defender, you don't get a jury, and the government has a lower burden of proof to win their case. So if you don't have a lawyer or don't understand what is happening and you get served for the lawsuit to denaturalize you, you could be at a disadvantage. There is also no time limit. They can reopen your case even if you became a citizen 20 years ago or even 30 years ago. And once somebody loses their citizenship, they can be placed in removal proceedings and be subject to deportation.

Oftentimes, you no longer have a state making you stateless, which makes the process even more complicated. And in some cases, a child who has received citizenship through you being naturalized may also have fair status in jeopardy.

Now let's keep things in perspective the number of actual denaturalization cases is minuscule compared to the millions of peoples who become u.s citizens every single year and just being flagged does not actually mean that you will automatically have your citizenship be taken away most people will also never have a problem. But the fear is real. People are now second guessing whether or not they should even apply for citizenship renew their passport or even travel, they're worried that something in their file might trigger a review.

This is why this is the time to be careful and not afraid and to be proactive. If you are already a citizen or thinking of applying for it, make sure that you review your full immigration history. Ask yourself:

• Have I ever been arrested or had any sort of negative interaction with a law enforcement agency?
• Did I ever use a different name?
• Was I ever denied a visa or ordered removed?
• Did I forget to say any of these things on my applications?

What Should You Do?

These are big changes, and it's not always clear who will be affected or what to do next. So let me walk you through it.

If you are a naturalized U.S. citizen and you are worried about something happening to your citizenship status, now is the time to get organized.

Start by gathering your documents, such as:

• Your naturalization cerificate
• Your old green card if you still have it
• A copy of the N-400 application that you submitted maybe years ago
• Any records from immigration court
• Past applications
• Prior arrests
• Conviction records
• Anything else that may count anything in your past or might raise a question

Get the documentation and collect it so it can be reviewed. Have a trusted immigration attorney review your file and you should definitely do this before applying for any federal benefits and especially before you file for citizenship.

You may want to think twice also about traveling abroad if you have any sort of criminal history or if you have let your green card status lapse in the past. Keep this in mind: in order for the U.S. government to take away your citizenship, they must actually prove that you did something to warrant denaturalization. They can investigate things that have happened after you take oath, but they can't revoke your citizenship unless they can tie it to something from before.

And finally, if you have a green card but have not yet applied for citizenship, you might be wondering, should I apply now or should I wait? The truth is citizenship is still the best protection yet in the long run. Green card status can be much more easily taken away than citizenship, but before you apply, you still need to apply carefully.

If you have ever had a criminal case, immigration denial, or any sort of arrest, talk to an attorney because under your current rules, mistakes in your application could expose you to actually more risk and scrutiny and possibly get your case flagged.

My name is Moumita Rahman and I have been practicing immigration law for the past 15 years. If you would like my help on your case, give us a call at 212-248-7907. We are based in New York City and we serve clients all over the United States.

An attack on citizenship is not the only thing that Trump is doing to slow down immigration. He is also transforming USCIS from the inside out, and it is already affecting how green card and citizenship cases are being processed. In my next video, I will show you the new rules USCIS is quietly enforcing and why even green card holders are no longer being treated as permanent residents.

Click here to watch that now, because if you are filing anything soon, this could affect your case.