By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-10-06 12:27:18 | Updated at 2026-10-06 20:44:23
8 hours ago
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed denaturalization cases against 40 individuals accused of various crimes, including sexual abuse of a minor and espionage for China.
The denaturalization cases, filed between Aug. 21 and Oct. 2, represent the largest number of complaints filed in a single period under the Trump administration, according to an Oct. 5 DOJ statement. Individuals facing denaturalization have been accused of acts such as child pornography, drug offenses, sodomy against a special needs man, child sexual abuse, identity theft, and voluntary manslaughter.
Based on DOJ data, the highest number of denaturalizations were of citizens from Mexico, China, and Pakistan.
Yusmary Shirley Duran Mejia, 47, from Colombia, entered the United States in 2007 and was naturalized in 2018. In 2019, she was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. Mejia admitted in court that she was involved in the illegal actions before becoming a citizen, the DOJ said. The United States is seeking the denaturalization of Mejia, citing her criminal acts and procurement of naturalization through misrepresentations and concealment of facts.
Ramiro Escot Esparza, 60, from Mexico, applied for citizenship in 2008. During the citizenship interview in 2009, Esparza allegedly concealed the fact that he had engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor. A few months after obtaining citizenship, Esparza pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual abuse of a minor. The United States is seeking Esparza’s denaturalization.
Two people are facing denaturalization for spying for the Chinese communist regime. One of them, Wei Jinchao, 26,
joinedthe U.S. Navy in 2021 and obtained U.S. citizenship in May 2022. By then, he had started working with an intelligence officer from Beijing, the DOJ said in another Oct. 5 statement.
Wei provided images and videos of an amphibious assault ship, information about defensive weapons, locations of certain Navy vessels, and thousands of pages of critical information obtained from restricted Navy systems. He was paid more than $12,000 by the intelligence officer for the info. In January, he was sentenced to 200 months in prison.
The second person, Li Ping, 61, worked for a major U.S. telecommunications company and later an IT company. Li provided information about Chinese dissidents, Falun Gong practitioners, pro-democracy advocates, and U.S.-based nongovernmental organizations to Beijing. Li was sentenced to 48 months in prison in November 2024, according to the DOJ.
“Today’s announcement marks the largest denaturalization effort in modern history,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in the recent statement regarding the 40 cases. “From an individual convicted of espionage to others convicted of sexual offenses against minors, these defendants concealed critical facts from the U.S. government and represent serious criminal offenders.”
The Epoch Times was unable to reach the legal representatives of Yusmary Shirley Duran Mejia and Ramiro Escot Esparza for comment.
According to the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized U.S. citizen can lose their citizenship if such naturalization was obtained by fraud or illegal means.
An individual’s naturalization can be
revokedeither through criminal or civil proceedings, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
In civil revocations, the government is required to provide “clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence which does not leave the issue in doubt,” USCIS said. The agency refers cases for civil revocations when applicants secure naturalization illegally, conceal critical information, or willfully misrepresent facts during the naturalization process. For criminal revocations, the burden of proof is the same as in other criminal cases—it must be beyond a reasonable doubt.
In January, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) introduced the Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation Act (SCAM Act), which expands the denaturalization process for individuals who have committed certain crimes, according to a Jan. 19 statement from the lawmaker’s office.
Specifically, the SCAM Act targets people who have committed fraud against government programs, are associated with designated foreign terrorist organizations, or have committed an aggravated felony or espionage, according to the statement.
The SCAM Act “would take bold steps to safeguard the American public from criminal exploitation, defend against national security threats, and ensure that the virtues of U.S. citizenship continue to be protected and preserved,” Joe Chatham, director of government relations for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said in the statement.
