SerpApi.Org
The Trump administration quietly expanded the targets for its widespread deportation operations.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that it is attempting to revoke citizenship from those they allege obtained legal residency status fraudulently by either concealing or downplaying previous criminal convictions while applying for naturalization. The DOJ revealed in a press release that it moved within the last 30 days to strip naturalization from 10 individuals accused of serious offenses, including sexual abuse of a child, health care and wire fraud, immigration fraud and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine.
The announcement comes after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement finds itself under fresh scrutiny following the deaths of two men killed by ICE agents in Maine and Texas within less than a week, leading border czar Tom Homan to order all immigration agents to wear body cameras.
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The DOJ cited a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act to argue its case to nullify the naturalization of those accused of procuring it illegally via "concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation."
The 10 individuals listed in the DOJ release are all men, and six of them hail from Mexico, including Ceflo Luviano-Mojica, 60; Urbano Vazquez Ortega, 53; Antonio Alcantara-Ruiz, 53; Omar Cantu-Montalvo, 44; Francisco Montano, 59; and Martin Garcia Cardie, 60.
The other five men whom the DOJ is attempting to strip citizenship from include Yoskmaikel Rodriguez Perez, 45, from Cuba; Murtaza Ali, 65, from Pakistan; Jimmy Aguero, 51, from Peru; Marcin Stanislaw Garbacz, 47, from Poland.
A handful of representatives from the Justice Department and Homeland Security provided statements in support of the move.
"These ten criminal aliens — including child sex abusers, a $900,000 Medicare fraudster, and a cocaine trafficker — lied their way into U.S. citizenship,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in the press release. “Each of these individuals lacked the good moral character required by law and procured citizenship through willful misrepresentations and concealment of their crimes. Under President Trump’s leadership, this Department of Justice will continue to aggressively pursue denaturalization to restore integrity to America’s naturalization process.”
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, "When you commit fraud during the naturalization process, you forfeit the right to keep your U.S. citizenship. These criminal aliens, comprised of drug traffickers, pedophiles, and fraudsters, lost that right and exploited our immigration system—harming real U.S. citizens. DHS is committed to ensuring we denaturalize and remove these fraudsters with every tool at our disposal.”
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division declared the DOJ "refuse[s] to give a free pass to criminals who cheated their way into American citizenship. Under this administration, if you defrauded the naturalization process, you will face the full force of the Justice Department. We’ve only scratched the surface — many more complaints are coming.”
