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Fact check: Can ICE deport a dual citizen to their country of other citizenship in 2025?
Executive Summary
The core legal reality is straightforward: a United States citizen — including a dual national — cannot be deported while they remain a US citizen, but there is an exceptional pathway that can make deportation possible: denaturalization of naturalized citizens. Denaturalization dismantles the protective status of citizenship when it was procured by fraud, illegal means, or, in a narrow set of circumstances, by voluntary relinquishment; if denaturalization succeeds, the now noncitizen may be removable and could be deported to another country of nationality [1] [2]. Recent attention from the Department of Justice to prioritize revocation cases increases the practical risk for some naturalized dual citizens, while advocacy groups stress that lawful permanent residents and noncitizens remain most at risk of removal [2] [3].
1. Why ordinary dual citizens are protected and what that protection means in practice
Under constitutional law and longstanding judicial precedent, US citizenship confers an absolute bar to deportation, and the government cannot expel a person who is a US citizen by birth or valid naturalization; deportation statutes apply to noncitizens, not citizens [1] [4]. Dual nationality introduces complexity in travel, consular protection, and foreign obligations, but it does not, by itself, make a person deportable from the United States. The practical implication is that a dual citizen reentering the US is treated as a US citizen for immigration enforcement purposes, and enforcement against them would be legally improper absent a prior judicial stripping of citizenship [5]. Advocacy materials and FAQs reiterate that deportation proceedings fundamentally target noncitizens, emphasizing the constitutional protection for citizens [4].
2. When deportation becomes possible: denaturalization and its consequences
The only routine mechanism by which a person who once held US citizenship can be made deportable is denaturalization, which is a judicial process pursued by the government when naturalization was allegedly obtained through fraud, concealment, or illegal procured means. If a naturalized citizen is successfully denaturalized, they revert to the immigration status they held immediately before naturalization and can be placed in removal proceedings if they lack other lawful status [1]. Recent DOJ signals to prioritize cases that seek to revoke citizenship underscore that denaturalization is a present enforcement tool, not merely theoretical, increasing the stakes for naturalized dual nationals who may face allegations that could trigger both loss of citizenship and subsequent deportation [2].
3. Divergent emphases in public-facing guidance: rights for citizens vs. risks for noncitizens
Legal help organizations and immigrant-rights groups focus on protecting green card holders and other noncitizens because those groups remain the primary targets of detention and removal; their materials urge awareness of criminal and political activities that can create removal risk [3]. By contrast, consumer-facing explainers and constitutional summaries stress the untouchable nature of citizenship for dual nationals, except in denaturalization scenarios [1] [4]. This divergence reflects different agendas: advocacy groups aim to reduce fear and prevent avoidable risks among noncitizens, while legal primers emphasize constitutional safeguards for citizens. Both perspectives are accurate in their domains, but they address distinct populations and enforcement realities [3] [1].
4. Practical signals: government priorities, timing, and the real-world threat level
The Department of Justice announcement in mid‑2025 that it would prioritize revocation cases signals a heightened enforcement focus on denaturalization, which could increase removal risk for a subset of naturalized citizens alleged to have falsified their immigration histories [2]. However, denaturalization remains legally and factually demanding; successful revocation requires court findings, and not all allegations lead to loss of citizenship. For dual nationals by birth (who did not naturalize), the Afroyim line of rulings and doctrine cited in public analyses reinforce that citizenship cannot be involuntarily revoked absent voluntary relinquishment or clearly established fraud at naturalization [5]. Thus, while enforcement emphasis has shifted, the practical threat is concentrated on those with contested naturalization, not on dual nationals generally [2] [5].
5. Bottom line for individuals and what to watch next
If you are a dual national by birth, you remain protected from deportation under current law; if you are a naturalized dual national, your protection is similarly robust unless the government successfully obtains denaturalization based on fraud or related grounds, after which deportation becomes possible [1]. Watch for enforcement developments and DOJ case priorities announced in 2025, which may increase denaturalization litigation [2]. For people seeking practical advice, the distinctions between citizen-by-birth, naturalized citizen, lawful permanent resident, and visa holders are decisive: only the denaturalization pathway meaningfully converts a citizen into a deportable noncitizen.