The federal government is seeking to revoke the citizenship of a Chicago man who became a U.S. citizen 15 years ago and have him deported, according to a legal filing reviewed by Newsweek.
The complaint, filed in an Illinois court on Oct. 7, alleges that Emmanuel Tayo Akinkunmi, who was born in Nigeria, “procured his naturalization unlawfully” and “willfully misrepresented and concealed material facts” when he applied to naturalize. The allegations have not been tested in court.
Akinkunmi had no listed attorney as of Monday morning, Newsweek reported.
What We Know So Far
The government says Akinkunmi took the Oath of Allegiance and was admitted as a citizen on June 8, 2011. It alleges that, years earlier and under a different identity, he abandoned his green card status in 1993 and was then ordered excluded from the United States. The Board of Immigration Appeals upheld that decision in 1997, the filing says.
According to the complaint, he later applied for a new green card under the name Akinkunmi, said he had used no other names and denied having been excluded. That application was approved in 2000.
In 2010, when he applied for citizenship, the government alleges he again denied using another identity and denied having been ordered excluded or deported. The complaint says he “was never lawfully admitted to the United States as a permanent resident” and that he sought admission and other benefits by “fraud” or by willfully misrepresenting a material fact.
Newsweek said it contacted the attorney representing the United States for comment by email.
What Authorities Are Saying
The case comes as the Trump administration pursues what Attorney General Todd Blanche called the “largest denaturalization effort in modern history,” Newsweek reported.
In early October, the Justice Department launched an effort to strip 40 naturalized Americans of their citizenship, alleging it was obtained illegally or fraudulently. The cases span alleged fraudulent marriages, immigration fraud and identity fraud. The defendants range in age from 26 to 76 and come from 20 countries.
“Every single one of these individuals lied their way into U.S. citizenship,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the department’s Civil Division.
Why This Matters
Federal courts can revoke naturalized citizenship if the government shows it was obtained illegally or through concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation. The process is lengthy and complicated, and earlier administrations rarely used it.
From 1990 to 2017, the federal government started an average of about 11 denaturalization cases a year, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. In Trump’s first term, from 2017 to 2021, the figure rose to roughly 25 a year. Newsweek reported that the administration told it in April that it planned to increase denaturalizations sharply.
Trump promised a crackdown on illegal immigration when he returned to the White House in January 2025, but his administration has also scrutinized people who entered legally. Multiple reports have described detentions at interviews for green cards and citizenship, Newsweek said.
The Supreme Court has placed limits on the government’s power. In Maslenjak v. United States in 2017, the court held that an illegal act during the naturalization process must have played a role in obtaining citizenship.
What Happens Next
Akinkunmi has not responded in court, and it is unclear whether he has retained a lawyer. Newsweek concluded that any denaturalization case is likely to draw legal challenges. If a judge revokes his citizenship, he could face removal proceedings, as the government’s filing seeks.
Reporting drawn from Newsweek
