The Justice Department has moved to strip citizenship from a dozen naturalized Americans accused of serious crimes, alleging fraud, terror links, war crimes, sexual abuse, sham marriages, and firearms trafficking tied to conduct before or shortly after naturalization.

The Department of Justice filed civil denaturalization complaints in U.S. district courts against 12 people accused of concealing criminal histories or lying during immigration and naturalization proceedings. The cases span allegations including providing material support to terrorist groups, war crimes, sexual abuse of minors, fraud schemes, sham marriages, and illegal firearms conspiracies. These filings rely on provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act that permit revocation when naturalization was illegally procured or obtained by concealment or willful misrepresentation. The government says these are civil actions seeking to cancel certificates of naturalization and restore integrity to the system.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated, “Individuals implicated in committing fraud, heinous crimes such as sexual abuse, or expressing support for terrorism should never have been naturalized as United States citizens,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The Trump administration is taking action to correct these egregious violations of our immigration system. Those who intentionally concealed their criminal histories or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process will face the fullest extent of the law.” That sentence captures the administration’s stance and the tone of the DOJ filings.

Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate added forcefully that the department is moving quickly. “This Department of Justice continues to file denaturalization actions at record speeds to restore integrity in our naturalization process,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The disturbing criminal histories confirm these individuals should have never received the privilege of U.S. citizenship. We remain committed to leveraging every tool available under the law to pursue those who obtain their U.S. citizenship unlawfully.” Those words underline the priority given to enforcement.

1. Ali Yousif Ahmed Al-Nouri (Age 48/Iraq): Ahmed entered the United States in 2009 claiming his family had been attacked by Al-Qaeda in Iraq, but Iraq later sought his extradition over alleged premeditated murders of two Iraqi police officers in 2006. U.S. investigators say Ahmed lied under oath about his criminal and family history and illegally procured naturalization in 2015, which the DOJ alleges warrants denaturalization. The complaint links him to leadership in an Al-Qaeda-affiliated plot and alleges material concealment during admission and naturalization.
2. Oscar Alberto Pelaez (Age 75/Colombia): Pelaez, a Colombian Roman Catholic priest, was convicted after pleading guilty in 2002 to multiple counts of sexual assault against a child committed from 1998 to 2000. The DOJ alleges he lied about those crimes on his naturalization forms and lacked the required good moral character to become a citizen. The complaint seeks denaturalization on multiple grounds including knowingly providing false statements to immigration authorities.
3. Khalid Ouazzani (Age 48/Morocco): Ouazzani swore attachment to the U.S. Constitution when he naturalized in 2006, but the complaint alleges he had already been planning and financing support for Al-Qaida. He later pleaded guilty to bank fraud, money laundering, and providing material support to Al-Qaida, and the DOJ contends his false testimony and affiliation with a terrorist organization within five years of naturalization preclude citizenship. The case alleges concealment and misrepresentation during naturalization.
4. Salah Osman Ahmed (Age 43/Somalia): Ahmed allegedly joined al-Shabaab and traveled to Somalia to fight shortly after naturalizing in 2007, later pleading guilty to providing material support to terrorists. The complaint asserts he procured naturalization by concealing his terrorist affiliation and by willful misrepresentation. His membership or affiliation with a terrorist group within five years of naturalization is cited as prima facie evidence against eligibility.
5. Baboucarr Mboob (Age 58/Gambia): Mboob, a former Gambian military police officer, reportedly participated in the execution of six officers in 1994 and later admitted to those actions to a Gambian truth commission. He is accused of concealing his involvement in those war crimes and acts of persecution during immigration and naturalization proceedings after entering the U.S. in 2002 and naturalizing in 2011. The DOJ seeks revocation for concealment and willful misrepresentation of material facts.
6. Kevin Robin Suarez (Age 31/Bolivia): Suarez allegedly ran a straw-purchasing scheme that trafficked firearms from South Florida to Bolivia and other countries, aiding drug trafficking networks abroad. He pled guilty in 2020 to conspiracy related to false statements to firearms dealers and the DOJ says those crimes and false testimony precluded the moral character required to naturalize in 2017. The complaint alleges concealment of material facts during his naturalization process.
7. Abduvosit Razikov (Age 46/Uzbekistan): Razikov is charged with arranging sham marriages to secure immigration benefits, including paying U.S. citizens to enter marriages to obtain residency for himself and others. The DOJ alleges he never lawfully acquired the permanent resident status required to naturalize and that he willfully misrepresented material facts and committed immigration fraud. Those acts are cited as grounds for denaturalization.
8. Abdallah Osman Sheikh (Age 28/Kenya): Sheikh, while serving in the U.S. Marines, allegedly possessed and posted indecent images of minors in 2019 and then concealed those acts during naturalization. The complaint also notes he received an other than honorable discharge and that his military record did not meet the requirements tied to certain naturalization benefits. The DOJ alleges concealment and willful misrepresentation supporting denaturalization.
9. Debashis Ghosh (Age 62/India): Ghosh is accused of conspiring to defraud investors of $2.5 million intended for an aircraft maintenance facility and of continuing the scheme after naturalization. The complaint says he falsely claimed on his 2012 naturalization materials that he had never committed a crime and that his conduct during the statutory period showed lack of good moral character. The DOJ alleges willful misrepresentation and false testimony in naturalization proceedings.
10. Pin He (Age 53/China): He was ordered removed under the name Chun Di He in 1992 but applied the next year under a different identity, later obtaining permanent residency and naturalizing as Pin He. The DOJ alleges he concealed the prior removal order and misrepresented his identity and eligibility, obtaining citizenship by concealment and misrepresentation. The complaint seeks revocation on those grounds.
11. George Oyakhire (Age 66/Nigeria): Oyakhire is accused of naturalizing under a false identity, obtaining temporary resident and lawful permanent resident status under the name Oliver Bennett Oyakhire and later naturalizing in that false identity in 1996. The complaint details the sequence of identity changes and alleges the naturalization was procured under false pretenses. The DOJ seeks to cancel the certificate of naturalization issued under the false name.
12. Victor Manuel Rocha (Age 75/Colombia): Rocha admitted in criminal proceedings that he began spying for Cuba in 1973 prior to naturalizing in 1978, and he was convicted of serving as an unregistered agent for Cuba. The DOJ alleges he lied under penalty of perjury when he applied for naturalization about having committed crimes, affiliations with the Cuban government, and his beliefs about the U.S. Constitution. The complaint seeks revocation based on those false statements and concealments.

The cases were handled by the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, Affirmative Litigation Unit, with assistance from USCIS and U.S. Attorney’s Offices across multiple districts. The prosecutions involved the District of Arizona, Southern District of Florida, Eastern District of California, District of Minnesota, Middle District of Florida, Western District of Kentucky, District of Columbia, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Southern District of Iowa, and Northern District of Illinois. Those partnerships reflect a coordinated civil enforcement push to address allegedly unlawful naturalizations.

The complaints describe allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. The filings initiate civil proceedings to determine whether the certificates of naturalization should be revoked under existing federal law.