Trump seizes on ‘moral character’ loophole as way to revoke citizenship

A new justice department directive may signal a sweeping crackdown on US citizens as part of Trump’s deportation agenda

A justice department memo directing the department’s civil division to target the denaturalization of US citizens around the country has opened up an new avenue for Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, experts say.

In the US, when a person is denaturalized, they return to the status they held before becoming a citizen. If someone was previously a permanent resident, for example, they will be classified as such again, which can open the door to deportation efforts.