Washington, D.C. – An effort to uncover the true depth of the Trump-Vance administration’s stated plot to strip naturalized U.S. citizens of their citizenship is moving to court, as the nation’s leading bulwark against the administration’s unlawful acts has filed a lawsuit challenging the withholding of documents relating to the administration’s denaturalization push. In a challenge filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Democracy Forward is asking the court to compel the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to comply with public records laws and turn over communications relating to the administration’s ongoing push to identify and pursue large numbers of denaturalization cases.
The information requested by Democracy Forward focuses on denaturalization initiatives, referrals, litigation, agency coordination, communications among senior officials, and related policy discussions, and is important to make public as the senior administration officials, including White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, advocate for more aggressive expanded use of denaturalization processes, which is already causing fear in immigrant communities and chilling U.S. citizens’ speech and expression.
“The Trump-Vance administration is trying its hardest to chill American citizens from exercising their rights through making public threats that the administration will denaturalize U.S. citizens. We are pleased to be filing a court action today to uncover the nature of any denaturalization plans and to shine a light on the administration’s true plans so that people and communities can be prepared to defend their rights against future unlawful schemes,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “It is a dark irony that President Trump and his associates are encouraging people to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country’s founding, as the administration continues to push policies that undermine our nation’s best values as well as its own citizens. Expanded denaturalization efforts are among the most consequential hardline policies pursued by the administration, and the government has no right to hide public information and documents regarding its efforts. Our promise to the American public remains: we will uncover the truth and meet harmful activity with swift legal challenges. This is an important step in that effort.”
Democracy Forward submitted multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests earlier this year as part of the organization’s effort to inform the public about matters of public interest. While the agencies acknowledged the requests, they did not provide the public documents and communications as required by law.
The case is Democracy Forward Foundation v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services et al., and the Democracy Forward legal team working on the issue includes Anisha Hindocha, Daniel McGrath, Ronald Fein, and Robin Thurston.
Read the complaint filed today here.
For resources regarding denaturalization, see a primer here and a case tracker here.
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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
