The Trump administration is seeking to revoke the citizenship of a former North Miami mayor, marking the latest step in what officials describe as a broader push to pursue individuals accused of obtaining U.S. citizenship through immigration fraud.
Court documents indicate that the U.S. Department of Justice has initiated denaturalization proceedings against Philippe Bien-Aime in federal court in Miami. Bien-Aime, who was born in Haiti and later became a U.S. citizen, is named in a complaint filed on Feb. 18. Access to the case file is limited due to privacy protections, and the docket is not publicly viewable.
The filing includes a series of supporting documents, among them marriage and divorce records, naturalization paperwork, birth certificates, a prior deportation order and Bien-Aime’s citizenship application. In the complaint, prosecutors also refer to him as “Jean Philippe Janvier.” The case is being heard by U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore, who was appointed to the federal bench by former President George H.W. Bush.
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NBC6 first reported on the case after obtaining a copy of the complaint. According to the filing, an immigration judge ordered Bien-Aime deported in 2000 under the name “Jean Philippe Janvier,” citing his entry into the United States on a fraudulent passport. The complaint says there is no record showing that he departed the country following that order. It further alleges that he later secured U.S. citizenship through marriage despite being ineligible.
Reached by phone Thursday evening, Bien-Aime declined to discuss the allegations and directed questions to his immigration attorney, Peterson St. Philippe. In an emailed response, St. Philippe said he was unable to offer detailed comment at this time.
In his statement, St. Philippe said, “We believe it is appropriate to address the allegations through the judicial process rather than through public commentary. We trust that any reporting will reflect that the matter remains unresolved and that no findings have been made.”
North Miami Mayor Alix Desulme said his office had no prior knowledge of the allegations against Bien-Aime or of any claim that he had used another identity. “I am shocked,” Desulme said.
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, roughly half of North Miami’s residents are foreign born, and the city is home to a sizable Haitian community. Bien-Aime was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
The effort to revoke his citizenship comes amid a broader push by the Trump administration to step up denaturalization enforcement. In 2025, Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate circulated a memo directing the Justice Department’s civil division to give priority to such cases. The guidance calls for focusing on individuals considered high priority, including those flagged as national security risks, gang members and people accused of financial fraud.
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Historically, the federal government has rarely moved to strip someone of U.S. citizenship once it has been granted. From 1990 to 2017, denaturalization cases were filed against an average of about 11 individuals each year, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association. The group says referrals for such cases rose sharply during the first Trump administration.
J.C. Planas, an election attorney and general counsel for the Democratic Party, said the complaint in this case underscores broader concerns about how denaturalization efforts are being carried out. “This is some sort of micro targeting; this is very concerning,” as per him. “This just seems like a mother excuse to get rid of Black and brown people.”
Planas also questioned what he described as “selective enforcement,” arguing that denaturalization has traditionally been “reserved for violent offenders, not someone who may have fibbed to stay in the United States.”
On his campaign website, Bien-Aime says he first moved to Canada before eventually making the United States his home. He built a career in the automotive sector and later launched his own business in 2006.
He was elected mayor of North Miami in 2019. In 2022, he stepped down from that post to run for the Miami-Dade County District 2 Commission seat, a race he ultimately lost to community activist Marleine Bastien. Before becoming mayor, he had served on the North Miami City Council beginning in 2013.