More on Denaturalization and Birthright Citizenship
By Josh Marshall
July 2, 2025 2:11 p.m.
I’ve had several TPM Readers reply to the post below about denaturalization and say it’s actually even worse than I say. Specifically, that we can’t really have any confidence that people who were born citizens won’t face denaturalization too. One reader simply makes the point: why not? What’s the bar that is stopping that? And of course, sure: Anything can in theory happen. And some things that we would have thought were only possible in theory a decade ago are happening routinely now or appear on the horizon. Another reader, more concretely, notes that, while his ancestors have been here for a century, the Chinese Exclusion Act raises the possibility that some of his “natural-born” ancestors may not have been citizens after all and that could be applied against him.
As a general matter, I take these points. I simply note that for now and I strongly suspect going forward that one thing is conceivable but the other thing (denaturalization of naturalized citizens) is happening, or is being actively planned for. So that’s where I’m focused. But as I noted to the second email correspondent, this returns me to a related point I’ve referenced several times over the last six months: it’s not just recent arrivals whose citizenship rests on birthright citizenship. It’s actually the basis of almost everyone’s citizenship, both in a foundational sense and even more as a matter of proof and record keeping.
Let me go back to the what I mentioned in the earlier post about my presumably inviolate citizenship. My biological ancestors on one side all came to this country roughly a century or a bit more ago. On the other side they go back to the 17th century. I’m a citizen because I was born in St. Louis, Missouri. But if we take birthright citizenship out of the mix, am I a citizen? My birth certificate lists only my parents and that they were both born in Missouri. But absent birthright citizenship that’s meaningless. It doesn’t say whether they were citizens. And their own birth certificates don’t include that information about their parents either. This is actually a bigger deal than it appears on the surface. It’s something that is in a blurry area between the actual basis of citizenship and the record-keeping, or lack thereof, which makes it almost impossible to know. Absent the clarity of birthright citizenship we simply have no record-keeping in the country that provides any clarity about who is a citizen and who isn’t, absent for the recently naturalized.
Josh’s comments about DE-NATURALIZATION
Denaturalization is a Stark Threat to All Citizenship
July 2, 2025 11:28 a.m.
I want to focus your attention on this new piece by Josh Kovensky on the DOJ appearing to open the door to denaturalizing citizens based on political activity or belief. I doubt I need to convince anyone reading this that this is a bad thing. But I want to underscore what is implicit in what is bad about it but needs to be as front and center as possible. The only cases in which denaturalization should ever be used are in the most extremes cases of egregious acts which, had they been disclosed prior to naturalization, would have barred citizenship in the first place. Even in most of those cases, the downsides usually outweigh the upsides. Because outside of the most extreme and unusual cases denaturalization is a stark threat to the equality of all American citizens.
I was born in the United States. Depending on what I do, the state can send me to war, imprison me, even execute me. But I can never stop being an American citizen unless I affirmatively renounce that citizenship. As long as that threat exists in any meaningful sense, no naturalized citizen is really my equal. Their membership in the club is contingent, contingent on behavior, which is to say not equal at all.
The reason that denaturalization should be off the table even in the vast majority of cases in which it is technically permissible is that once you decide you want to denaturalize someone you can probably find some technical flaw in the naturalization process or some trivial omission to make it possible.
Acyn
@Acyn
Phang: Holy crap. Think about that. Oh—did I just say “holy”? Well, it fits…
So, the church keeps its tax-exempt status while actively engaging in politics. Of course, this becomes a way to funnel money and circumvent campaign finance laws. Think about that.
https://x.com/Acyn/status/1943045924726669333
LongTime🤓FirstTime👨💻 (@LongTimeHistory) posted at 9:34 AM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
ICE taser & tackle man screaming in pain—he was shopping in aisle H26 of Walmart.
Walmart cooperates with ICE—the only person they kicked out of store was shopper taking this video.
Agents even hold shelves so boxes don’t fall during attack—but allow the man to crash to floor. https://t.co/wlnbLi6ybO
(https://x.com/LongTimeHistory/status/1942593212721308037?t=lV14z_pWr2XZsAhsIZU2yw&s=03)
Neena Satija (@neenareports) posted at 6:14 PM on Mon, Jul 07, 2025:
NEW: For eight years, Kerr County sought help from Texas officials to pay for a $1 million early flood warning system. Twice, they were rejected. The third time the state agreed to chip in just 5% of the cost. With @keribla https://t.co/x7HpJ4gWb4
(https://x.com/neenareports/status/1942361605028634751?t=7Mhc3Wbbhyv-D7RaicCNAw&s=03)
Medicaid expansion gave healthcare to THE WORKING POOR.
THE WORKING POOR.
THE WORKING POOR.
WORKING MEANS THAT THEY ALREADY HAVE A JOB.
The largest percentage of Medicaid Dollars GOES TO NURSING HOMES.
…………………………
Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) posted at 9:22 AM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
🚨 Brooke Rollins just said the quiet part out loud:
“No amnesty. Mass deportations continue. We’ll replace immigrant labor with machines and force the poor on Medicaid to pick up the slack.”
This is a manifesto for a low-wage police state.
Deport the immigrants. Threaten the poor. Automate the rest.
Welcome to the new American workforce; powered by cruelty, not dignity
https://t.co/Br80DoFgjZ
(https://x.com/allenanalysis/status/1942590046088954113?t=44ETMIsLQdtKoC1LB-YKmA&s=03)
Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) posted at 6:27 PM on Mon, Jul 07, 2025:
Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and other deep-red states are leading the pack in rural hospital closures. This is what happens when you gut Medicaid, reject federal dollars, and treat healthcare like a luxury.
You can’t blame “woke” when there’s no ER for 100 miles. https://t.co/qf6iLdyOBZ
(https://x.com/cwebbonline/status/1942364866943279397?t=77lmmk0X6vVCLdsAize7WA&s=03)
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) posted at 1:02 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
At the DeSantis Everglades detention camp, people with green cards are being held in terrible conditions, with maggots in the food, the lights kept on 24 hours a day, and delayed access to medicine.
One guy had his Bible taken and was told “here there is no right to religion.” https://t.co/drIOqm3ZcQ
(https://x.com/ReichlinMelnick/status/1942645510545801261?t=vWWeBhcjl7Zjzc29xMPo8Q&s=03)
improvise. Adapt. overcome. (@reesetheone1) posted at 7:25 PM on Mon, Jul 07, 2025:
Dems need to run on comprehensive immigration reform and sell it to Latinos.
Let WWC maga call it amnesty.
Bring back the 2013 bill.
(https://x.com/reesetheone1/status/1942379371701944472?t=gHtXo1w1cQXh0UEbxnSmig&s=03)
The United States versus Elon R. Musk (@Needle_of_Arya) posted at 5:42 AM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
while I’m glad to have experienced the Obama presidency while still young enough to fully enjoy it, it had the severe downside of resulting in the broken brains of an ocean of white people who subsequently gave us nationwide vote suppression, Donald Trump & Bernie Sanders
(https://x.com/Needle_of_Arya/status/1942534837946179819?t=q_rTqkG0g23wIbW1s6cutA&s=03)
FEMA
FIRST WORD- FEDERAL
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) posted at 10:55 AM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
Kristi Noem: “We as a federal government don’t manage these disasters. The state does.” https://t.co/TSH0sKhKUo
(https://x.com/atrupar/status/1942613555796226341?t=0g2GdE76Ef92wVZ_x9NYDg&s=03)
Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) posted at 11:26 AM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
Leaked documents confirm it: what happened in MacArthur Park yesterday wasn’t about safety. It was about theater.
A photo op. Propaganda. Intimidation.
No known arrests. They weren’t after violent criminals. They were after headlines. https://t.co/vJliLK88RE
(https://x.com/cwebbonline/status/1942621377967636841?t=1DetvMznK8wm4bA475PBoA&s=03)
Dr. Lucky Tran (@luckytran) posted at 10:31 AM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
BREAKING: Scientists are staging a “science fair” in the lobby of a Congressional building to tell elected officials about the critical knowledge the US will lose because their research grants have been canceled. https://t.co/uaSM66Q31q
(https://x.com/luckytran/status/1942607587670630695?t=yjLq29dnioM3dq-fdjpXtQ&s=03)
James F. Love IV (@JamesFLoveIV) posted at 7:00 PM on Mon, Jul 07, 2025:
FEMA Will No Longer Go Door-to-Door to Assist Disaster Victims – Mother Jones https://t.co/LVD3E1qr4g
(https://x.com/JamesFLoveIV/status/1942373276178678185?t=PnjXSh5swV5r3AxwugdXvw&s=03)
Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) posted at 6:10 AM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
Pay attention to this! Trump is pushing Texas to redraw its congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Why? Because Republicans can’t win unless they rig the game. They know their policies are unpopular.
Texas has a long history of voter suppression and partisan redistricting. It’s one of the main ways Republicans hold power in a state where demographics are changing fast, and not in Republicans’ favor.
This is exactly why so many Dems in red states don’t vote. Gerrymandering fuels voter apathy. Folks feel like their vote doesn’t matter because, in too many places, it’s been designed not to.
https://t.co/wwLf1D3JHm
(https://x.com/cwebbonline/status/1942541755657904261?t=QT3RWrhTjdm71d6ZkSZJiA&s=03)
Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) posted at 0:44 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
Trump tried to hold a press conference today, but he spent most of his time obsessing about windmills and rambling about the color of the room he was in. When is the media going to admit that Trump has dementia?
(https://x.com/PalmerReport/status/1942640904411492812?t=a32HD-PZmRC5EIDrrfBfQA&s=03)
Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) posted at 11:00 AM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
Since the Supreme Court limited nationwide injunctions, challenging Trump’s executive orders will become harder. Advocates plan to use slower methods, like class action lawsuits, to block his agenda.
https://t.co/wSpDXxmE4t
(https://x.com/DemocracyDocket/status/1942614693400416386?t=b-zU_MmDZ-JaKcwXQRFrKg&s=03)
Republicans against Trump
@RpsAgainstTrump
BREAKING: Trump just imposed 50% tariffs on all imports from Brazil because they’re prosecuting his corrupt ally Bolsonaro: “This trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!” He’s using U.S. trade policy to defend a disgraced politician abroad. Completely unhinged.
https://x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1943048141248270713
Republicans against Trump
@RpsAgainstTrump
The U.S. imported about $42 billion worth of stuff from Brazil in 2024, including steel, fuel, coffee, beef, orange juice, and all kinds of other stuff. Now Trump’s hitting all of it with 50 percent tariffs. So yeah, we’re all paying more so that he can protect his corrupt buddy Bolsonaro. Completely nuts.
3:48 PM · Jul 9, 2025
Rep. Jared Huffman (@JaredHuffman) posted at 8:44 PM on Mon, Jul 07, 2025:
This is really bad. The merger of tax-exempt conservative churches with the MAGA Republican Party is complete. It started with endless rightwing attacks on the IRS, leading to partisan political operations like Family Research Council posing as “churches,” and now this.
(https://x.com/JaredHuffman/status/1942399269056700689?t=ynhuhcCdpqZSjOt_eenDPg&s=03)
Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (@SenatorWarnock) posted at 4:31 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
They slowed down on the tariffs while they were busy passing the biggest cut to health care in US history. Now they’re back in full gear, raising prices for you.
It’s a scam.
(https://x.com/SenatorWarnock/status/1942698013580816553?s=02)
Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) posted at 8:13 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
🚨🛬 They told them they were being flown out of Louisiana.
But they didn’t land in another U.S. state. They landed in Djibouti, were held in a shipping container, then quietly dumped in South Sudan, a country they had zero ties to.
ICE just ran a black site pipeline on immigrants and the Supreme Court backed it.
Let that sink in.
(https://x.com/allenanalysis/status/1942753967101935964?t=OYqc8S1k-Rk9GaSngKJEGA&s=03)
kevikev (@KevCoke6) posted at 4:36 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
We’re about to see one of the largest white collar recessions ever. Thousands of intelligent/highly skilled workers are or will be on the hunt for jobs. Many of which aren’t even hiring at the moment. Again, don’t ever say that elections don’t have consequences.
(https://x.com/KevCoke6/status/1942699282991141023?t=sV_aPc8ibiA0nW5Zvp0MuQ&s=03)
Jane of the North (@JaneotN) posted at 8:38 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
Canadians are vacationing at home. International tourists are choosing Canada. It’s not just the insults, or the tariffs. America is too dangerous. ICE’s powers are limitless. We can’t go to a country that treats its visitors like new enemies instead of historic allies.
(https://x.com/JaneotN/status/1942760122796708285?t=EyM0DQ0nzlHdYgIjCev-1g&s=03)
Greg Carr (@AfricanaCarr) posted at 7:01 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson dissents again today. Good for her. Many will say that doesn’t matter. Many will again be wrong. The problem with ideological purists is that they live in the ideal world. The problem with those of us who live in the real one is that we live in the
(https://x.com/AfricanaCarr/status/1942735724006011236?t=9BbJQZ4ZZGMz69UGJnyH7A&s=03)
Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) posted at 3:01 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
🚨#BREAKING: The Supreme Court just greenlit Trump’s mass federal layoffs, lifting the order that blocked him.
The federal government is now a target-rich environment.
Tens of thousands of public servants, from climate scientists to DOJ staffers, could be swept out so Trump can replace them with loyalists.
(https://x.com/allenanalysis/status/1942675433876586736?t=hDFj7MMudn918Fm-bdm0jA&s=03)
Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) posted at 8:13 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
Today we learned Hegseth stopped arms shipments to Ukraine without anyone at the WH knowing and Rubio and Grenell were working separate Venezuela negotiations at cross purposes with each other. Is anyone actually running national security policy?
(https://x.com/matthewamiller/status/1942753908658479246?t=ilioRNo4gDhSHmXZz2edZA&s=03)
Rachel Bitecofer 🗽🦆 (@RachelBitecofer) posted at 7:46 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
🚨🚨🚨Not only was Kerr Co denied funding for a siren system by TX Republicans 8 times since 2016 guess how much they needed to do it?
75K
That’s what the town 15 miles downriver built.
75K
(https://x.com/RachelBitecofer/status/1942747198078452152?t=BoPbRqyjR_c38o9SooaDuA&s=03)
Adam Carlson (@admcrlsn) posted at 3:56 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
Cooper running in NC.
Osborn running in NE.
Allred running in TX.
Pappas running in NH.
Strong fields in MI & MN.
Scholten (to a lesser extent) in IA.
About as good as you can hope for if you’re a Democrat.
Just need a serious challenger for Collins in ME & we’re all set.
(https://x.com/admcrlsn/status/1942689300749115401?t=1CdsWRyxMGj94wmHxuJ2YQ&s=03)
improvise. Adapt. overcome. (@reesetheone1) posted at 3:51 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
Won’t work if you can’t vote…… and black and Latinos are gonna have a much harder time voting in 26 and 28.
Trump is gonna do his best to KILL souls to the polls.
2016 was the ballgame y’all.
2020 was just a breather.
(https://x.com/reesetheone1/status/1942687971096027625?t=CioYVpLCXYiINEbpEJWd_Q&s=03)
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) posted at 11:16 AM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
Trump turns to the assembled press and says of CNN’s Natasha Bertrand: “You ought to fire that reporter. Immediately. You should fire her. Real fake … the media has to straighten out their act … I think changes are gonna be made to the media.” https://t.co/ja0iCnIJdJ
(https://x.com/atrupar/status/1942618903760290258?t=TIzxdINk0t3bcJkQqk6i3w&s=03)
𝔗𝔯𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔐𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔰 (@politicsusa46) posted at 1:02 AM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
Ladies and gentlemen let me introduce you to Trump’s brownshirts. While they may be described as cosplay military, they are part of the next phase of Trump’s march towards authoritarian rule.
They are now the 16th largest funded military on planet earth. Do you think their budget is just to enforce law and order. If you do please call a doctor urgently. This is a new private army designed to act as enforcers for Trump.
Don’t be fooled by this being an immigration enforcement force, that’s just the beginning. They are unidentifiable for a reason, they are unaccountable for their actions and that is very deliberate.
Thanks to underthedesknews for the clip.
vm.tiktok.com/ZNdPwRe9s/
https://t.co/0qU5pmzR9q
(https://x.com/politicsusa46/status/1942464389484802385?t=d0bezOgUWtqH5w2kYT-8_g&s=03)
ABC News (@ABC) posted at 5:44 AM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said she believes recent rulings by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority pose an “existential threat to the rule of law.” https://t.co/G7S1Es7mKY
(https://x.com/ABC/status/1942535354357072000?t=oBt107KFHbghJ3ms8m-pEw&s=03)
Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) posted at 2:38 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
So not only have abortion bans not reduced the number of abortions—they’ve increased the number of later abortions! https://t.co/Bf63cZ4LmO
(https://x.com/JessicaValenti/status/1942669528753906085?t=kQA8s13ek_AgFsQ22cwFTg&s=03)
Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) posted at 9:38 AM on Wed, Jul 09, 2025:
“The calls from Alligator Alcatraz’s first detainees brought distressing news: Toilets that didn’t flush. Temperatures that went from freezing to sweltering. Giant bugs. And little or no access to showers or toothbrushes, much less calls with attorneys” https://t.co/vGRTOBVlOy
(https://x.com/JonLemire/status/1942956514764878301?t=y-5iakdgLaHe8xZSax9PmQ&s=03)
Arya Sundaram (@arya_sundaram) posted at 6:54 AM on Wed, Jul 09, 2025:
NEW: Immigrants complain of inhumane conditions at ICE holding cells in NYC.
No showers or changing clothes. Sometimes only one meal per day. Over 100 people in small rooms. Sleeping on benches, the floor, or sitting up, due to lack of space.
https://t.co/EJH9nAAKFi
(https://x.com/arya_sundaram/status/1942915382894821614?t=6h4shTlwIJj7UWjhuBQ8EQ&s=03)
Americans For Tax Fairness (@4TaxFairness) posted at 8:22 AM on Wed, Jul 09, 2025:
You know one of the craziest things about Trump’s budget bill?
The tax cuts go into effect next year.
But the healthcare cuts don’t start until after midterms.
They think they can distract you with a few hundred bucks—and avoid the consequences when you lose healthcare later.
(https://x.com/4TaxFairness/status/1942937510541169036?t=4k8ctZbWJW2Xm6RQ0VOYzQ&s=03)
Peanut and I watched My Fair Lady this past weekend.
She just could not stop watching it through a 2025 Lens.
She absolutely despised Henry Higgins, from beginning to end.
I was cracking up, watching her get pissed all through the movie. …LOL
I explained to her that Rex Harrison had played Henry on Broadway, but that they switched out Julie Andrews for Audrey Hepburn.
I’m singing all the songs, and she is just side eyeing me…LOL
Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) posted at 10:00 PM on Tue, Jul 08, 2025:
The Trump administration has not released over $6.2 billion that Congress allocated for education.
That means cuts to summer classes, English language instruction, adult literacy and more—all because they may not align with the president’s priorities.
https://t.co/S52UbBJsJl https://t.co/pGOOnyDu5A
(https://x.com/CREWcrew/status/1942780878758814004?t=_ZQvFh6Z8QKjLo0RptgEIw&s=03)
Good Morning Everyone 😊😊😊