WASHINGTON, United States (CMC)—The Donald Trump administration says it has filed denaturalisation actions in multiple US district courts against one Haitian and two Cuban nationals among 40 individuals accused of “serious offences,” including acting as an agent for a foreign government, committing voluntary manslaughter, and aggravated sodomy against a special-needs man.

Filed between August 21 and October 2, 2026, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said these complaints represent “the largest volume of complaints submitted in a single period under the Trump administration.”

The DOJ said the Haitian national whose US citizenship would be stripped is Arnouse Merlien, while the Cuban nationals are Javier Marrero-Pando and Lazaro Trujillo Viton.

The others whose US citizenship would be stripped are nationals of Colombia, Mexico, United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Nepal, Peru, Ghana, Iran, China, Cambodia, Canada and Afghanistan.

The DOJ said that, under the US Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalised US citizen’s citizenship may be revoked, and certificate of naturalisation cancelled, “if the naturalisation was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.”

US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the announcement marks “the largest denaturalisation effort in modern history.”

“From an individual convicted of espionage to others convicted of sexual offences against minors, these defendants concealed critical facts from the US government and represent serious criminal offenders,” he said.

Blanche said under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Justice will continue to employ the denaturalisation process “to maintain our national security and protect the American people”.

Assistant Attorney General Brett A Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said every single one of these individuals lied their way into US citizenship.

“This administration will continue to pursue the largest denaturalisation effort in department history to restore trust and integrity in US citizenship. Our message is clear: the United States will not tolerate deception in the naturalisation process.”

The DOJ said that, on September 28, it filed a complaint in the Southern District of Florida seeking the denaturalisation of Merlien, 48, a resident of West Palm Beach, Florida, because “she committed tax fraud during her naturalisation proceedings.”

The DOJ said Merlien naturalised as a US citizen in 2016.

The DOJ said in 2018, in the Northern District of Georgia, she was charged with and convicted of conspiracy to fefraud the government with respect to claims.

“In the years leading up to her naturalisation, Ms Merlien participated in a conspiracy to defraud the US government by submitting fraudulent claims for income tax refunds with the IRS,” the DOJ said.

“The United States seeks the denaturalisation of Ms Merlien in a three-count complaint alleging she illegally procured her naturalisation because of her conviction for tax fraud, her false testimony in naturalisation proceedings, which demonstrates she did not have the requisite good moral character needed for naturalisation, and because she procured her naturalisation by concealment of material facts or by willful misrepresentation,” it added.

The DOJ said, on August 31, it filed a case in the Middle District of Georgia seeking the denaturalisation of Cuban Javier Marrero-Pando, 60, a resident of Athens, Georgia, because “he failed to disclose during his naturalisation proceedings that he had committed aggravated sodomy against a special needs man.”

In June 2022, the DOJ said he was convicted by guilty plea for aggravated sodomy.

“During his plea hearing, Mr Marrero-Pando admitted that, in May 2020, he forced the victim to perform sexual acts against the victim’s will. For that offence, he was sentenced to life in prison, with all but 15 years suspended”.