The U.S. Justice Department said Monday it has filed civil actions seeking to revoke the citizenship of 17 naturalized Americans, alleging they obtained citizenship unlawfully by concealing or misrepresenting material facts, including criminal conduct.
The Justice Department said on June 8, 2026 that it filed denaturalization actions in federal courts against 17 naturalized U.S. citizens accused of offenses ranging from sexual abuse of a minor to fraud and illicit drug distribution, alleging they secured citizenship through concealment or willful misrepresentation. In a statement, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called U.S. citizenship “a privilege” and said the department has “zero-tolerance” for abuse of the naturalization process. The department said the cases were brought under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows revocation of citizenship if naturalization was illegally procured or obtained by concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation. Among the cases highlighted by the department: - Leidys Delmas Garcia, 54, a native of Cuba, was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. The Justice Department alleges she admitted in criminal proceedings that she and co-conspirators operated 30 physical therapy clinics in Florida that fraudulently billed Blue Cross Blue Shield about $36,728,595 for services that were not medically necessary or not provided, and that she later denied undisclosed crimes and false statements during her naturalization process. - Jean Claude Alfred, 68, a native of Haiti who became a U.S. citizen in 1994, is alleged to have repeatedly sexually abused his minor daughter beginning in September 1993, including during the period his naturalization application was pending. The department said a Florida jury convicted him in 1996 of offenses tied to that conduct, and that he concealed the abuse during the naturalization process. - Fernando Cristancho, 69, a Colombian-born Roman Catholic priest, is alleged to have sexually groomed and abused a minor parishioner. The Justice Department said Cristancho pleaded guilty to coercion and enticement and received a 22-year prison sentence, and that he concealed his conduct from immigration officials while seeking citizenship. - Andrea Marroquin, 44, a native of Colombia, is described by the Justice Department as the daughter of a major Colombian drug trafficker. The department alleges she concealed a bigamous marriage to obtain permanent residence and later conspired to commit wire and bank fraud and money laundering between 2003 and 2011, using drug proceeds to finance fraudulent real estate transactions in Miami. The Justice Department emphasized that the allegations are contained in civil complaints and that there has been no determination of liability in the denaturalization proceedings. Separately, the Justice Department has moved in recent years to elevate denaturalization as an enforcement priority. A June 11, 2025 memo by the head of the department’s Civil Division, Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate, directed the division to prioritize and “maximally pursue” denaturalization proceedings in cases permitted by law and supported by evidence, according to reporting and published copies of the memo.
