Trump DOJ aims to denaturalize these 12 individuals tied to terrorist groups, other alleged crimes
The Trump administration ramps up efforts to pursue more denaturalization cases.
President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice on Friday announced denaturalization actions against a dozen individuals, including those accused of providing material support to terrorist groups.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the United States attorney for the District of Arizona filed a civil denaturalization complaint on Friday against Ali Yousif Ahmed, a 48-year-old man from Iraq who entered the U.S. in 2009 based on a claim that he and his family were attacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists.
'If you're going to come and become a citizen in this country, but you're going to do it by fraud ... you should be worried.'
The DOJ stated that in 2019, the Republic of Iraq requested the U.S. extradite Yousif Ahmed, claiming that he was an Al-Qaeda leader who had murdered two Iraqi police officers in 2006. A U.S. investigation into Yousif Ahmed uncovered that he had allegedly illegally obtained his naturalization in 2015 by lying under oath about his criminal and family history.
The DOJ is also moving to denaturalize Oscar Alberto Pelaez, a 75-year-old from Colombia, arguing that he lacks good moral character and that he lied to immigration authorities. The department stated that Alberto Pelaez, a Colombian Roman Catholic priest, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a child on multiple occasions from 1998 to 2000. The victim was 14 to 17 years old at the time of the abuse.
Alberto Pelaez was convicted of 13 counts of sexual assault against a child, including two counts of oral copulation with a person under 18 years of age, and two counts of sodomy of a person under 18 years of age. The DOJ claimed that Alberto Pelaez lied about his crimes in his naturalization application.
Khalid Ouazzani, a 48-year-old from Morocco, may lose his U.S. citizenship after the DOJ claimed he falsely swore to the principles of the Constitution. The department stated that Ouazzani planned ways to support Al-Qaeda, alongside two other men who were convicted of attempting to bomb the New York Stock Exchange. In 2010, Ouazzani pleaded guilty to bank fraud, money laundering, and providing material support to the terrorist group.
The DOJ aims to denaturalize Salah Osman Ahmed, a 43-year-old from Somalia, who was naturalized in 2007. However, the department claims that he, too, was not committed to the principles of the U.S. Constitution. Osman Ahmed pleaded guilty in 2009 to providing material support to terrorists after he allegedly traveled to Somalia to kill Ethiopians and join al-Shabaab. He was accused of concealing or willfully misrepresenting material facts to procure his naturalization.
Baboucarr Mboob, a 58-year-old from Gambia who entered the U.S. in 2002, may lose his U.S. citizenship after the DOJ claimed that in 1994 he committed war crimes and acts of persecution. Mboob, who previously served as a military police officer in the Gambian army, admitted to participating in the execution of six officers who were accused of plotting a counter-coup against the then-president. The DOJ claimed that Mboob concealed his involvement throughout his immigration and naturalization proceedings.
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The DOJ is seeking to revoke the citizenship of Kevin Robin Suarez, a 31-year-old from Bolivia, who was accused of lacking good moral character, falsely testifying under oath, and misrepresenting and concealing material facts in determining his naturalization eligibility.
Robin Suarez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause false statements to become a federally licensed firearms dealer after he was accused of soliciting straw purchasers to buy firearms on his behalf to export those weapons to Bolivia and other Latin American countries.
“These firearms were part of a larger network of gun trafficking from South Florida to Bolivia by Bolivian nationals in the United States. Once in Bolivia, the guns were often sent to drug trafficking organizations in Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru, fueling drug violence there,” the DOJ wrote.
Abduvosit Razikov, a 46-year-old from Uzbekistan, was accused of engaging in three sham marriages to obtain immigration benefits for himself and others. In 2005, he allegedly entered into a fraudulent marriage with a U.S. citizen to obtain his permanent residency. According to the DOJ, he paid another U.S. citizen in 2007 to marry his “actual romantic partner,” also from Uzbekistan.
Razikov divorced his American wife in 2010 and was naturalized in 2012. He then allegedly married another woman from Uzbekistan, not his romantic partner, so that she could enter the U.S. The DOJ claims that Razikov did not lawfully acquire permanent residency and thus could not become a U.S. citizen. He was accused of giving false testimony and obtaining his naturalization by concealment or willful misrepresentation of material facts.
The DOJ filed denaturalization actions against Abdallah Osman Sheikh, a 28-year-old from Kenya residing in Fairdale, Kentucky. In 2019, Sheikh, who was later naturalized based on his military service in the Marines, was accused of possessing indecent images of two minors and posting one of those images on his social media. He allegedly hid those crimes from the government throughout his naturalization proceedings. Further, the DOJ claimed that Sheikh received an other-than-honorable discharge from the Marines for misconduct.
Debashis Ghosh, a 62-year-old from India, was accused of willfully misrepresenting his alleged criminal history during his naturalization process. The DOJ claimed that Ghosh defrauded investors of $2.5 million intended for the construction of an aircraft maintenance facility. During his 2012 naturalization application and interview, Ghosh allegedly falsely claimed that he had never committed a crime for which he had not been arrested.
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The DOJ is attempting to denaturalize Pin He, a 53-year-old from China, who was ordered removed from the U.S. in 1992 under the name Chun Di He. He changed his name to apply for an immigration benefit the following year. He was granted permanent residency in 2007 and naturalized in 2013 under his new identity. The DOJ claimed that He did not disclose his prior removal order.
George Oyakhire, a 66-year-old from Nigeria, was similarly accused of naturalizing with a different identity. Oyakhire entered the U.S. in 1986 with a visa under his real name. In 1988, he obtained temporary resident status under a false name, Oliver Bennett Oyakhire, and date of birth. His naturalization was approved in 1996 under his false identity.
Adeyeye Ariyo Akambi, a 65-year-old from Nigeria, was the final person on the DOJ’s denaturalization list. Ariyo Akambi was allegedly previously removed from the U.S. in 2000 under a different identity.
“Because Mr. Akambi obtained his citizenship after concealing these facts and misrepresented his eligibility for citizenship, the United States is seeking to revoke his certificate of naturalization,” the DOJ wrote.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told CBS News on Wednesday that the Trump administration is ramping up efforts to denaturalize foreign-born individuals who should not have become U.S. citizens.
"If you're going to come and become a citizen in this country, but you're going to do it by fraud, you're going to do it in a way that's illegal, you should be worried," Blanche stated.
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