Trump Administration Targets Fraudsters, Abusive Priests In Largest Denaturalization Effort Ever

The Trump administration is moving to strip U.S. citizenship from 10 naturalized citizens convicted of serious crimes as part of what officials are calling the largest denaturalization effort in American history.

The Justice Department has filed cases against individuals originally from Mexico, Cuba, Pakistan, Peru and Poland who were convicted of offenses including health care fraud, immigration fraud, child sex abuse, wire fraud and drug trafficking.

Administration officials said the individuals concealed crimes or provided false information during the naturalization process, making them ineligible to retain the citizenship they obtained.

Among those targeted is Yoskmaikel Rodriguez Perez, a Cuban native convicted of operating a fraudulent medical center in Miami. Prosecutors said the operation billed Medicare more than $886,000 for unnecessary prescriptions and services.

The administration is also seeking to revoke the citizenship of two former Catholic priests convicted of sex crimes involving children. Urbano Vazquez Ortega, a Mexican native, is serving a 15-year prison sentence for sexually abusing minors while working at a Washington, D.C., church.

Former priest Martin Stanislaw Garbacz, originally from Poland, was also included in the latest round of cases after being convicted of crimes involving the sexual abuse of minors.

Another individual, Omar Cantu-Montalvo of Mexico, was convicted of trafficking cocaine. Other defendants are accused of stealing identities, falsifying immigration documents and concealing criminal conduct while applying for citizenship.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the individuals lied their way into becoming American citizens and should lose that status. He said the administration will continue pursuing those who exploited the naturalization system while committing serious crimes.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said citizenship obtained through fraud is not protected and vowed to use every available legal tool to remove criminals who abused the immigration process.

The latest filings are part of President Trump’s broader effort to restore integrity to the immigration system and ensure that foreign nationals who obtain citizenship dishonestly are held accountable.