People wave flags at a naturalisation ceremony at the John F Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston. The Boston Globe / Getty Images
People wave flags at a naturalisation ceremony at the John F Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston. The Boston Globe / Getty Images
People wave flags at a naturalisation ceremony at the John F Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston. The Boston Globe / Getty Images
People wave flags at a naturalisation ceremony at the John F Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston. The Boston Globe / Getty Images

News

US

Trump administration steps up campaign to strip some Americans of citizenship

Spokesman says agency will pursue denaturalisation of those 'lying or misrepresenting themselves during process'

The National

December 18, 2025

  • English
  • Arabic

The Trump administration is aiming to increase its efforts to strip some naturalised Americans of their citizenship, The New York Times has reported, quoting internal guidance to immigration officers.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services guidelines, issued on Tuesday, asks staff to "supply Office of Immigration litigation with 100-200 denaturalisation cases per month" in the 2026 fiscal year, the newspaper reported.

That would mean a sharp rise in denaturalisation cases, which the Immigrant Legal Resource Centre says stood at about 11 a year between 1990 and 2017.

By law, denaturalisation can occur only by judicial order either through civil proceedings or a criminal conviction for fraud committed during the application process. The timetable for denaturalisation cases varies but they can take years to resolve.

"It's no secret that US Citizenship and Immigration Services' war on fraud includes prioritising those who've unlawfully obtained US citizenship – especially under the previous administration," USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser told The National.

"We will pursue denaturalisation proceedings for those individuals lying or misrepresenting themselves during the naturalisation process."

President Donald Trump said this month he would "absolutely" denaturalise "criminals".

"We have criminals that came into our country and they were naturalised maybe through [president Joe] Biden or somebody that didn't know what they were doing," Mr Trump said.

A former USCIS official told Newsweek the Trump administration’s plan is "virtually impossible" to implement at the proposed scale, and would require immense resources, creating strain on the agency.

The news comes as the Trump administration continues its clampdown on immigration. Across the country, agents are carrying out raids to detain immigrants accused of criminal activity – and many who have not been. The US has also drastically reduced the number of refugees it plans to take in next year and has barred citizens of an increasing number of nations from entering the country.

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WHEN TO GO:

September to November or March to May; this is when visitors are most likely to see what they’ve come for.

WHERE TO STAY:

Meghauli Serai, A Taj Safari - Chitwan National Park resort (tajhotels.com) is a one-hour drive from Bharatpur Airport with stays costing from Dh1,396 per night, including taxes and breakfast. Return airport transfers cost from Dh661.

HOW TO GET THERE:

Etihad Airways regularly flies from Abu Dhabi to Kathmandu from around Dh1,500 per person return, including taxes. Buddha Air (buddhaair.com) and Yeti Airlines (yetiairlines.com) fly from Kathmandu to Bharatpur several times a day from about Dh660 return and the flight takes just 20 minutes. Driving is possible but the roads are hilly which means it will take you five or six hours to travel 148 kilometres.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated

Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona

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J Barrett; I Dagg, A Lienert-Brown, N Laumape, J Savea; B Barrett, A Smith; J Moody, C Taylor, O Franks, B Retallick, S Whitelock, J Kaino, S Cane, K Read (capt).

Replacements: N Harris, W Crockett, C Faumuina, S Barrett, A Savea, TJ Perenara, A Cruden, M Fekitoa.

Updated: December 18, 2025, 5:25 PM