The US Department of Justice filed naturalization actions against 12 people across the country accused of serious offenses, according to a Friday DoJ release.
“Individuals implicated in committing fraud, heinous crimes such as sexual abuse, or expressing support for terrorism should never have been naturalized as United States citizens,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The Trump administration is taking action to correct these egregious violations of our immigration system. Those who intentionally concealed their criminal histories or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process will face the fullest extent of the law.”
One of the accused is Khalid Ouazzani, 48, a Moroccan citizen who applied for US citizenship in 2005 and was naturalized in 2006. According to the DoJ, Ouazzani was planning ways to support Al-Qaeda along with two men later convicted of trying to bomb the New York Stock Exchange as early as 2003. By 2007, he had sent tens of thousands of dollars to the terror organization. In 2008, he took an oath of allegiance to that terrorist organization. In May 2010, Ouazzani pleaded guilty to bank fraud, money laundering, and providing material support to Al-Qaeda.
The denaturalization complaint against Ouazzani stipulates that he gave false testimony during the naturalization process regarding his "attachment to the Constitution."
US reinstates deportation proceedings against pro-Palestinian student Mahdawi
The US Board of Immigration Appeals has reinstated deportation proceedings against pro-Palestinian student Mohsen Mahdawi, according to a court filing from his lawyers.
A US immigration judge in February had rejected efforts by US President Donald Trump's administration to deport the Columbia University student, who was arrested last year following his participation in pro-Palestinian protests.
Nina Froes, the Chelmsford, Massachusetts-based immigration judge who blocked the government's efforts to deport Mahdawi, was fired by the Trump administration last month.
The Board of Immigration Appeals, part of the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review, overturned Froes' decision.
Trump alleges activists like Mahdawi are antisemitic, support extremism, and threaten US foreign policy.
Mahdawi, born and raised in a refugee camp in the West Bank, was arrested in April 2025 upon arriving for an interview for his US citizenship petition. He was released after two weeks in detention following a judge's order and was never charged with a crime.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Mahdawi, says the government cannot deport him for the moment as his arrest was still being challenged in federal court.
Reuters contributed to this report.