WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Justice is moving to strip citizenship from 40 people in the U.S. accused of “serious offenses,” according to officials with the agency.
In a release this month, DOJ officials said that complaints were filed between Aug. 21 and Oct. 2, involving offenses like:
Acting as an agent for a foreign government
Committing involuntary manslaughter
Aggravated sodomy against a special-needs man
“The complaints represent the largest volume of complaints submitted in a single period under the Trump administration,” the release reads.
Country of origin of individuals in filed complaints (U.S. Department of Justice)
Of the 40 people named in the release, five live in Florida, the DOJ revealed. They are as follows:
Yusmary Shirley Duran Mejia, 47 — Colombia
“On Aug. 31, the Department of Justice filed a case in the Southern District of Florida seeking the denaturalization of Yusmary Shirley Duran Mejia, a resident of Hialeah, Florida, because she committed immigration fraud in her naturalization proceedings. Duran Mejia entered the United States in 2007 and naturalized in 2018. In 2019, she was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.
In criminal proceedings she admitted that she became involved in the illegal enterprise before she became a citizen. In 2020, she was convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956, for her efforts in concealing proceeds from unlawful activity. The United States alleges that the court should issue an order revoking Duran Mejia’s naturalization because her criminal acts and her false testimony in naturalization proceedings rendered her unable to demonstrate the required good moral character for naturalization and because she procured her naturalization by concealment of material facts and willful misrepresentations.”
U.S. Department of Justice
Jose Ramiro Carrasco, 57 — Mexico
“On Sept. 14, the Department of Justice filed a complaint in the Middle District of Florida, seeking the denaturalization of Jose Ramiro Montiel Carrasco, who sexually abused a minor and committed incest before he naturalized. Motiel Carrasco failed to disclose his crimes throughout his naturalization. After he naturalized, Montiel Carrasco was convicted in Florida state court for sexual battery and incest and respectively sentenced to concurrent terms of 8 and 5 years’ imprisonment.
Montiel Carrasco began his abhorrent acts of sexual abuse in or about 2000, when his victim was fourteen or fifteen years old. Throughout his naturalization proceedings, Montiel Carrasco failed to disclose material facts, including his unlawful acts, and he provided false testimony under oath. Accordingly, the United States seeks to denaturalize Montiel Carrasco on the basis that he illegally procured United States citizenship, namely, he lacked the requisite good moral character for naturalization, and because he willfully misrepresented material facts during his naturalization proceedings.”
U.S. Department of Justice
Syed Mashood Ul Haque, 66 — Pakistan
“On Sept. 16, the Department of Justice filed a complaint in the Southern District of Florida seeking the denaturalization of Syed Ul Haque because he used dual identities to violate U.S. immigration law. Ul Haque entered the United States on a tourist visa in 1993 under his current identity, then overstayed this visa. In 1994, Ul Haque used the identity “Mashud Ahmad” to apply for asylum. When the government denied his asylum application, he failed to appear for his immigration hearing and evaded lawful deportation.
After remaining illegally in the United States for decades, Ul Haque used his current identity to take advantage of a family-based immigration petition and become a permanent resident in 2005. Ul Haque later naturalized as a U.S. citizen. The United States seeks Ul Haque’s denaturalization because he was never lawfully admitted as a permanent resident due to his prior deportation order under a fraudulent identity, and he concealed this throughout his naturalization process.”
U.S. Department of Justice
Arnouse Merlien, 48 — Haiti
“On Sept. 28, the Department of Justice filed a complaint in the Southern District of Florida seeking the denaturalization of Arnouse Merlien, a resident of West Palm Beach, Florida, because she committed tax fraud during her naturalization proceedings. Ms. Merlien naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2016. In 2018, in the Northern District of Georgia, Ms. Merlien 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 U.S. government by submitting fraudulent claims for income tax refunds with the IRS. 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.”
U.S. Department of Justice
Ralph Nabavi, 69 — Iran
“On Sept. 30, the Department of Justice filed a complaint in the Southern District of Florida seeking the denaturalization of Ralph Nabavi, a resident of Miami, Florida, because he unlawfully evaded paying federal income taxes before he became a U.S. citizen in 2014. In 2019, he was charged with tax evasion for underreporting at least $12.5 million dollars in income and underpaying $3.5 million in federal income taxes.
Nabavi admitted when he pleaded guilty that he began transferring funds from his business to personal accounts to avoid paying income taxes beginning in 2013 before he naturalized in 2014, though the evidence indicates that he began at least as early as 2012. The United States alleges that the court should issue an order revoking Nabavi’s naturalization because his criminal act and false testimony in naturalization proceedings rendered him unable to demonstrate the required good moral character for naturalization and because he procured his naturalization by concealment of material facts and willful misrepresentations.”
U.S. Department of Justice
Jose Villareal Ortiz, 49 — Mexico
“On Oct. 1, the Department of Justice filed a case in the Southern District of Florida seeking the denaturalization of Jose Villarreal Ortiz, a native of Mexico. Mr. Villarreal was admitted to permanent resident status as the child of a U.S. citizen based on a false claim that his aunt (a naturalized U.S. citizen) was his mother and that he had remained in Mexico until 1996, when in fact he had been in the United States illegally for nearly a decade.
When it came time to naturalize, Mr. Villarreal falsely claimed that his parent was a U.S. citizen, that he had never lied to U.S. officials to gain admission or entry, and that he had never provided false or misleading information to government officials. As a result, Mr. Villarreal was naturalized. The United States is seeking to revoke Mr. Villarreal’s citizenship because he was not lawfully admitted for permanent residence, because he procured his naturalization by concealment of material facts and/or willful misrepresentations, and because his false testimony and misrepresentations meant that he lacked the good moral character necessary to naturalize.”
U.S. Department of Justice
“On Oct. 1, the Department of Justice filed a complaint in the Middle District of Florida seeking the denaturalization of Ping Li because he conspired to act as an agent of a foreign government without prior notification to the Attorney General in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 951(a). From at least as early as 2012, Mr. Li worked at the direction of officers of the Ministry of State Security (“MSS”) of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”) to obtain information of interest to the PRC government, including information concerning Chinese dissidents and pro-democracy advocates, members of the Falun Gong religious movement, and U.S.-based non-governmental organizations, and to report that information to the MSS. Mr. Li also provided the MSS with sensitive information obtained from his employers, a major U.S. telecommunications company and an international information technology company.
On August 19, 2024, Mr. Li plead guilty to acting as an agent of the PRC, without prior notification to the Attorney General. Mr. Li’s conduct is prima facie evidence that he was not attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States and was not well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States at the time of his naturalization. The United States therefore has filed a single-count complaint seeking to revoke his naturalized citizenship.”
U.S. Department of Justice
Officials explained naturalized U.S. citizens may have their citizenship revoked and certificate of naturalization canceled if the naturalization was either illegally procured or achieved by hiding a material fact.
“Every single one of these individuals lied their way into U.S. citizenship,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the DOJ’s Civil Division. “This administration will continue to pursue the largest denaturalization effort in department history to restore trust and integrity in U.S. citizenship. Our message is clear: the United States will not tolerate deception in the naturalization process.”
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