(NewsNation) — The Department of Homeland Security is investigating immigration cases for potential fraud to see if it should seek to strip American citizenship from individuals.
“Under U.S. law, if an individuals (sic) procures citizenship on a fraudulent basis, that is grounds for denaturalization,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin toldNewsNation. “We are certainly auditing cases for the countries of concern which includes Somalia.”
DHS is auditing cases of individuals from not only Somalia but also 18 other countries.
Denaturalization refers to the process of stripping someone of their U.S. citizenship after it was granted. It is a time-consuming, lengthy, legal process that is infrequently used.
The government must prove that the citizenship was obtained illegally through the application process, such as through marriage fraud or lying during the application process.
It comes amid ongoing fraud investigations in Minnesota, where people in the Somali community are accused of defrauding taxpayers of social services funds.
Republican lawmakers in Maine blamed state Democrats, including the governor, for ignoring a Somali-led health services contractor that defrauded the state’s Medicaid program of millions of dollars.
In an exclusive interview with NewsNation earlier this month, whistleblower Christopher Bernardini alleged that Gateway Community Services filed false claims for visits to disabled and low-income clients, though the services were never performed.
A Gateway Community Services spokesperson told NewsNation Tuesday that Republican lawmakers have treated allegations of fraud as fact. The spokesperson said that the allegations are being “used as a wedge issue in a high-stakes election year.”
NewsNation’s Alex Caprariello and Rich McHugh contributed to this report.