Federal prosecutors have initiated civil denaturalization proceedings against 25 naturalized citizens, including an Indian American man accused of using multiple fake identities to enter the United States.
The legal filings, distributed across federal district courts nationwide, stem from a Department of Justice effort targeting individuals who allegedly obtained American citizenship through misrepresentation, concealment of criminal records, or fraud.
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The 25 individuals come from 17 countries, including India, Pakistan, Mexico, Colombia, Nigeria, Sweden, and El Salvador.
Among those named in court documents is 65-year-old Narinder Singh. According to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, federal authorities allege that Singh entered the country around 1996 using two separate false identities and eventually obtained U.S. citizenship in May 2008.
The complaint against Singh contains seven counts detailing material misrepresentations and unlawful acts, alleging he intentionally concealed his actual background throughout his immigration applications.
Under federal immigration statutes, committing fraud or omitting disqualifying history during the naturalization process legally invalidates an applicant’s standing, making their naturalized status subject to revocation.
The broader set of complaints involves allegations of serious criminal conduct and fraudulent actions that officials state should have barred the individuals from naturalization.
The underlying charges detailed across the filings include violent crimes such as attempted murder, child sexual abuse, and domestic assault, as well as financial and identity crimes including bank fraud, marriage fraud, credit card fraud, and practicing medicine without a license.
The filings also name two individuals of Pakistani origin, Zia Murad Bhatti and Mohd Wasif, who face denaturalization proceedings over alleged identity falsification during their respective naturalization procedures.
Addressing the enforcement actions, Attorney General Todd Blanche emphasized that naturalization requires complete truthfulness throughout the process.
“U.S. citizenship is one of our nation’s highest privileges, and it must be obtained lawfully and honestly,” he said, noting that the department will continue to pursue individuals who secured citizenship through illegal means or fraud.
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These actions bring the total number of denaturalization complaints filed by the Justice Department to 123 since January 2025 representing the largest coordinated denaturalization efforts yet in the department’s history.
If the civil suits succeed, the court orders will revoke the defendants’ naturalization certificates and strip them of U.S. citizenship status, leaving them open to potential removal proceedings by immigration enforcement authorities.