U.S. Citizens Aren’t Safe From Deportation Under Trump

Naki Park
By Naki Park

Concerns are spreading among naturalized U.S. citizens as the Trump administration strengthens immigration policies and increases scrutiny of citizenship procedures. According to LA Daily News, which reported the issue on November 15th, recent federal actions have shaken long-held assumptions that naturalized citizens remain fully protected after receiving citizenship.

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he and Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, not pictured, meet in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Oct. 7. [REUTERS]
U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Oct. 7. REUTERS

The report states that some naturalized citizens, particularly refugees from conflict regions, are carrying their passports even when they already have a Real ID, anticipating possible enforcement changes. Others are reducing overseas travel out of concern about delayed reentry screening and stricter administrative procedures.

The U.S. Department of Justice reportedly issued internal guidance last summer instructing officials to review potential citizenship revocations for individuals linked to criminal activity or national security concerns. President Donald Trump’s push to end birthright citizenship has added to worries that institutional protections for naturalized citizens may weaken.

Cindy Nava, a New Mexico state senator who grew up under DACA status before obtaining citizenship through marriage, said she has “never seen naturalized citizens this afraid” and noted that many now question whether any safety net exists to protect them.

Daouda Sesay, who naturalized after entering the United States as a refugee, said he felt betrayed, stating that “this is not the America I believed in when I placed my hand over my heart during the oath.”

Although no evidence shows an increase in actual citizenship revocations since the start of the Trump administration, historical precedent continues to influence current concerns. U.S. naturalization laws began in 1790, granting citizenship only to “free white persons of good moral character,” and later imposed other race- and origin-based restrictions. In 1923, the U.S. Supreme Court revoked the citizenship of an Indian immigrant on the grounds that he did not qualify as white. During World War II, Japanese Americans were forced into internment camps.

BY NAKI PARK [park.naki@koreadaily.com]

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