US files denaturalization actions against Haitian, two Cubans among 40 people
Key Points(5)
- Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed denaturalization actions against 40 people, including one Haitian and two Cuban nationals, as part of what the department describes as the largest volume of such complaints submitted during a single period under the Trump administration.
- The complaints were filed in multiple U.S.
- district courts between Aug.
- 2, 2026, targeting naturalized U.S.
- citizens accused of serious offenses, including acting as agents for foreign governments, voluntary manslaughter and sexual offenses.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed denaturalization actions against 40 people, including one Haitian and two Cuban nationals, as part of what the department describes as the largest volume of such complaints submitted during a single period under the Trump administration.
The complaints were filed in multiple U.S. district courts between Aug. 21 and Oct. 2, 2026, targeting naturalized U.S. citizens accused of serious offenses, including acting as agents for foreign governments, voluntary manslaughter and sexual offenses.
The DOJ identified the Haitian national as Arnouse Merlien and the Cuban nationals as Javier Marrero-Pando and Lazaro Trujillo Viton.
The other defendants are nationals of Colombia, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Nepal, Peru, Ghana, Iran, China, Cambodia and Canada.
Under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, naturalized citizenship may be revoked if it was illegally obtained or procured through the concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation, the DOJ said.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche described the announcement as “the largest denaturalization 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,” Blanche said.
He added that the department would continue pursuing denaturalization cases under President Donald Trump to protect national security and the American public.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the DOJ’s Civil Division also accused the defendants of lying to obtain citizenship.
“This administration will continue to pursue the largest denaturalization 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 naturalization process,” Shumate said.
Cases involving the Haitian and Cuban nationals
On Sept. 28, the DOJ filed a three-count complaint in the Southern District of Florida seeking to revoke Merlien’s citizenship. The 48-year-old West Palm Beach resident became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2016.
The department said Merlien was convicted in 2018 in the Northern District of Georgia of conspiracy to defraud the government in connection with claims.
According to the DOJ, she participated in a scheme to obtain fraudulent income tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service in the years before her naturalization.
The complaint alleges that her conviction, false testimony during naturalization proceedings and concealment of material facts or willful misrepresentation rendered her ineligible for citizenship.
On Aug. 31, the DOJ filed a separate complaint in the Middle District of Georgia seeking to revoke the citizenship of Javier Marrero-Pando, 60, of Athens, Georgia.
The department said Marrero-Pando failed to disclose during his naturalization proceedings that he had committed aggravated sodomy against a man with special needs.
According to the DOJ, Marrero-Pando pleaded guilty to aggravated sodomy in June 2022. During his plea hearing, he admitted that he had forced the victim to perform sexual acts against the victim’s will in May 2020.
He was sentenced to life in prison, with all but 15 years suspended, the department said.
The DOJ also named Cuban national Lazaro Trujillo Viton among those facing denaturalization proceedings, but the details of his case were not included in the information provided.
