All articles tagged with #citizenship
The Supreme Court rejected President Trump’s bid to narrow birthright citizenship, upholding the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause and the entitlement of most people born in the U.S. to citizenship, in line with Wong Kim Ark precedent; a notable dissent by Justice Thomas criticized the decision.
Greg Abel, Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO, was sworn in as a U.S. citizen during the Iowa Cubs’ naturalization ceremony in Des Moines and even tossed the ceremonial first pitch. The event, the 18th annual ceremony at the ballpark, saw 533 new citizens sworn in that day. Abel—born in Edmonton, Canada—remains a high-profile Berkshire leader with the company valued at over $1 trillion, while Buffett has hinted Abel’s citizenship would come “very soon.”
A federal judge permanently barred most of President Trump’s executive order on elections, including the provision to require documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration, ruling that the administration overstepped constitutional authority and violated the separation of powers; the ruling converts a prior injunction into a permanent ban, leaving states to regulate elections without the proposed changes.
A federal judge blocked Donald Trump from enforcing a rule that would require voters to prove citizenship to cast a ballot, citing legal concerns and protecting voters' access to the ballot.
A federal judge blocked the use of a federal voter citizenship database for purging voters, citing the risk of erroneous removals that could disenfranchise eligible voters and complicate election administration.
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from implementing a revised SAVE database that merges citizenship data with Social Security numbers, citing knowingly inaccurate data being shared with states and leading to wrongful purges of voter registrations, and ruling the move violated privacy protections and federal law.
The Trump administration plans to file at least 250 denaturalization cases by October, accelerating efforts to revoke citizenship from naturalized Americans. The Justice Department has already filed 29 cases in under two months, with civil litigators pulled from other divisions to handle the workload. The cases focus on fraud or crimes committed during the naturalization process, and, if successful, denote a return to the individual's prior status (often permanent resident) or potential deportation. Denaturalization is a federal civil process and does not affect birthright citizens. The push aligns with a broader immigration agenda and follows a June memo prioritizing such cases, though the process is lengthy and resource-intensive.
NDPer Jenny Kwan is demanding explanations from Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab after IRCC abruptly suspended citizenship certificates issued under Bill C-3, the 'lost Canadians' law, for an unknown number of people worldwide; the department has not disclosed how many are affected or what triggered the review, which will assess, on an individual basis, whether each certificate was properly issued and may be returned if valid. Diab has stressed that Canadian ancestry does not guarantee citizenship, and some affected individuals are considering legal action; more than 4,000 people have received proof of citizenship by descent since the law was enacted.
A number of people who recently obtained Canadian citizenship under the 'Lost Canadians' law have been asked to surrender their citizenship certificates while the government reviews their cases for eligibility. Recipients, including some in the United States, were told their certificates “may not be entitled” and to return the documents, with officials noting the review is limited and those who are found entitled will have their certificates returned. Notable cases include Shawn Davis Mooney (US-born, now in Canada) and Rana Charron (Ohio), who submitted extensive documentation but now face uncertainty as the review proceeds. The government says affected files will be assessed fairly and individually.”,
Thousands of people sought Canadian citizenship, but an increasing number of applications are now under review or facing delays as authorities reassess eligibility and conduct additional checks.
IRCC is re-examining a limited number of citizenship certificates issued under Bill C-3 and is asking some new citizens to surrender paper certificates while their files are reviewed to confirm entitlement; the reviews focus on proving an unbroken parent-child lineage with records from official authorities and on explaining any missing records, not on recent reforms. Applicants can submit additional evidence; electronic certificates aren’t surrendered; the government has not disclosed how many certificates are affected.
The Justice Department said it will move to revoke the citizenship of 17 naturalized Americans in an unprecedented denaturalization effort tied to the Trump administration, with officials citing fraud and other crimes; denaturalization is rare and decided in federal court, and this action continues a broader crackdown that has already outpaced similar efforts under Biden.
The Department of Justice filed denaturalization actions in multiple district courts against 17 individuals who allegedly obtained U.S. citizenship through false statements or concealment, with offenses including sexual abuse of a minor, fraud, and drug distribution; under the Immigration and Nationality Act, citizenship may be revoked if procured illegally; the actions are allegations and pending legal proceedings, not determinations of liability.
An Arizona family moved to Turin in 2024 to finish a citizenship-by-descent process, expecting to gain Italian citizenship within months. But a October 2024 change to naturalization rules and a 2025 update overturned their mid-process eligibility. They were rejected in January 2025 and filed a court case, with a hearing set for January 2027. Now they’re weighing staying in Italy, returning to the US, or moving to another country like Spain while seeking a safer, more affordable life.
The Justice Department announced it will move to revoke the citizenship of 17 people nationwide in an unprecedented denaturalization push. Some targets are accused of fraud or minor sexual abuse; denaturalization is a rare federal court process. Officials say the initiative is part of an intensified effort under the current administration, with 24 denaturalization cases filed under Biden and a pace that has outstripped the prior year under Trump, including a dozen denaturalizations in May. Homeland Security Secretary Mullin vowed to continue denaturalizing and removing aliens.