Trump moves to strip citizenship from Haitian, Cuban nationals

The Trump administration says it has filed denaturalization actions in multiple US district courts against one Haitian and two Cuban nationals among 40 individuals accused of “serious offenses,” including acting as an agent for a foreign government, committing voluntary manslaughter, and aggravated sodomy against a special‑needs man. Filed between Aug. 21 and Oct. 2, 2026, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Oct. 5 that these complaints represent “the largest volume of complaints submitted in a single period under the Trump administration.” The DOJ said the Haitian national whose US citizenship would be stripped is Arnouse Merlien, while the Cuban nationals are Javier Marrero-Pando and Lazaro Trujillo Viton.  The others whose US citizenship would be stripped are nationals of Colombia, Mexico, United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Nepal, Peru, Ghana, Iran, China, Cambodia, Canada and Afghanistan. The DOJ said that, under the US Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized US citizen’s citizenship may be revoked, and certificate of naturalization canceled, “if the naturalization was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.” US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the announcement marks “the largest denaturalization effort in modern history. “From an individual convicted of espionage to others convicted of sexual offenses against minors, these defendants concealed critical facts from the US government and represent serious criminal offenders,” he said.  “Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Justice will continue to employ the denaturalization process to maintain our national security and protect the American people,” Blanche added.  Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said: “Every single one of these individuals lied their way into US citizenship. “This administration will continue to pursue the largest denaturalization effort in department history to restore trust and integrity in US citizenship,” he said. “Our message is clear: the United States will not tolerate deception in the naturalization process.” The DOJ said that, on Sept. 28, it filed a complaint in the Southern District of Florida seeking the denaturalization of Haitian-born Arnouse Merlien, 48, a resident of West Palm Beach, Florida, because “she committed tax fraud during her naturalization proceedings.” The DOJ said Merlien naturalized as a US citizen in 2016.  In 2018, in the Northern District of Georgia, the DOJ said she was charged with, and convicted of Conspiracy to Defraud the Government with Respect to Claims.  “In the years leading up to her naturalization, Ms. Merlien participated in a conspiracy to defraud the US government by submitting fraudulent claims for income tax refunds with the IRS,” the DOJ said.  “The United States seeks the denaturalization of Ms. Merlien in a three-count complaint alleging she illegally procured her naturalization because of her conviction for tax fraud, her false testimony in naturalization proceedings, which demonstrates she did not have the requisite good moral character needed for naturalization, and because she procured her naturalization by concealment of material facts or by willful misrepresentation,” it added.  The DOJ said that, on Aug. 31, it filed a case in the Middle District of Georgia seeking the denaturalization of Cuban Javier Marrero-Pando, 60, a resident of Athens, Georgia, because “he failed to disclose during his naturalization proceedings that he had committed aggravated sodomy against a special needs man.” In June 2022, the DOJ said he was convicted by guilty plea for aggravated sodomy.   “During his plea hearing, Mr. Marrero-Pando admitted that, in May 2020, he forced the victim to perform sexual acts against the victim’s will,” the DOJ said. “For that offense, he was sentenced to life in prison, with all but 15 years suspended” At his naturalization interview in October 2020, the DOJ said Marrero-Pando “falsely stated under oath that he had never committed a crime for which he had not been arrested, inducing immigration authorities to grant his naturalization application.” The DOJ said the United States filed a three-count complaint against Marrero-Pando seeking his denaturalization due to his “illegal procurement of naturalization, lack of good moral character, and false statements in his naturalization proceedings.” The DOJ said it also filed a complaint, on Oct. 1, in the District of Columbia seeking the denaturalization of another Cuban-born, Lazaro Eduardo Trujillo Viton, 40.  It said Trujillo “concealed throughout the naturalization process that he was involved in a conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and that he himself submitted fraudulent Medicare claims for reimbursement, for which he was convicted after naturalization.  “Because Trujillo committed these crimes prior to naturalization and continuing through naturalization and concealed his involvement therein, he obtained naturalization through a concealment or willful misrepresentation of a material fact,” the DOJ said.  It said Trujillo “provided false testimony disqualifying him from citizenship,” and that “his crimes of moral turpitude and other unlawful acts meant that he lacked the good moral character necessary to naturalize.  “The United States is, therefore, seeking to revoke Trujillo’s naturalized citizenship,” the DOJ said.