National Security Threats Should Be Denaturalized

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In light of the discussions of a "path to citizenship" for illegal immigrants, it's important to note that in extraordinary cases, the path to citizenship can be run in reverse. Naturalized citizens who acquire their citizenship through fraud, especially those involved in terrorism or espionage, can and should be subject to denaturalization.

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The Center for Immigration Studies today released a new report, "Upholding the Value of our Citizenship: National Security Threats Should Be Denaturalized", that discusses the danger of allowing naturalized U.S. citizens who have been charged with serious national security-related offenses to retain their citizenship. Even immigrants who fraudulently conceal material facts in order to be granted citizenship remain citizens and receive all the benefits, including sponsorship of family members for immigration and traveling abroad using a U.S. passport. The report also reveals that the Department of Homeland Security has no method in place for reviewing such cases, which ensures there will not be any future improvement of the vetting process.

The report is at: http://www.cis.org/Upholding-the-Value-of-Our-Citizenship-Threats-Should-Be-Denaturalized

Prior to 2000, the Immigration and Naturalization Service administratively denaturalized individuals when facts came to light revealing that an applicant had been ineligible at the time of naturalization. Presently, however, denaturalization can only occur through criminal prosecution or civil suits in the already overburdened federal district courts. The report recommends re-instituting the capability to administratively denaturalize individuals granted citizenship in error or as a result of misrepresentations, concealment of material facts, or other forms of fraud.

"It is the government's responsibility to protect the American people," said Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center. "If we are unwilling to provide better screening at the front end, then we certainly should be willing to reverse mistakes and strip citizenship from those involved in terrorism, espionage, and theft of sensitive information and technology."

The report includes an appendix listing dozens of recent examples of naturalized citizens who have been charged with serious national security offenses.

The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit research organization. Since its founding in 1985, the Center has pursued a single mission – providing immigration policymakers, the academic community, news media, and concerned citizens with reliable information about the social, economic, environmental, security, and fiscal consequences of legal and illegal immigration into the United States.

CONTACT: Marguerite Telford
mrt@cis.org (202) 466-8185

SOURCE Center for Immigration Studies