The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Thursday it revoked the naturalization of a convicted gun trafficker and a health care fraud conspirator.
Why It Matters
The actions arrived as denaturalization draws fresh political and legal scrutiny, with Republicans pushing for new legislation.
The Justice Department, under current guidance, has made denaturalization a priority, and immigration agencies have reassigned staff to identify more potential cases, according to reports from NBC News and NPR.
What To Know
According to the DOJ’s release, a court on March 23 revoked the citizenship of Vladimir Volgaev, a native of Ukraine, after finding he concealed his role in smuggling more than a thousand firearm components overseas and defrauded a federal housing program before naturalizing in 2016, rendering him ineligible during the required good moral character period.
Volgaev was convicted in 2020 of smuggling goods from the U.S. and theft of government money or property, and the court concluded he also provided false testimony about his criminal background, the release said.
A transcript of Volgaev’s sentencing hearing showed his defense lawyer argued his age and physical health made him eligible for compassionate release, with the judge deciding: “Upon release from the term of incarceration, he will serve a one-year term of supervised release.”
Meanwhile, on March 24, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida revoked the 2017 naturalization of Mirelys Cabrera Diaz of Hialeah, Florida, after her 2019 guilty plea and conviction for conspiring to commit health care fraud, with restitution ordered of more than $6 million, the DOJ said. The court held that Cabrera Diaz could not establish the statutory requirement of good moral character during the five-year period preceding her application.
According to the immigrant advocacy non-profit group, the National Immigration Forum, the federal government may revoke U.S. citizenship through denaturalization on two primary grounds. The first involves fraud or misrepresentation during the naturalization process. An individual may be denaturalized if they deliberately lied or concealed a material fact that influenced the government’s decision to grant citizenship.
The second ground is illegal procurement of naturalization. This applies when an individual was not legally eligible for citizenship at the time it was granted because they failed to meet statutory requirements, such as lawful permanent residence, sufficient physical presence, good moral character, or attachment to the principles of the U.S. Constitution.
What People Are Saying
U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in the release: “American citizenship is a sacred privilege — not a cheap status that can be obtained dishonestly.
“These actions reflect this Department of Justice’s ongoing efforts to strip citizenship from people who conceal crimes or defraud the American people during the immigration process.”
What Happens Next
Newsweek reported previously that denaturalization cases have remained rare despite recent political rhetoric—with an average of around 11 cases a year, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
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