No, an American citizen cannot be deported. Federal immigration law authorizes the removal only of an “alien,” which the statute defines as “any person not a citizen or national of the United States.”1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1101 – Definitions Citizens fall outside that definition, so no judge has statutory authority to sign a removal order against one. The only way a person ends up deportable is if they stop being a citizen first — either because a court strips a naturalized citizen of their status for fraud, or because the person voluntarily gives up nationality. Separately, citizens are sometimes detained or even removed by mistake, and the remedies for that are their own subject.
Why the Law Puts Citizens Outside Deportation
The constitutional floor is the Fourteenth Amendment: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”2Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Fourteenth Amendment The Supreme Court has policed that line closely. In 1958 it described the loss of citizenship as “the total destruction of the individual’s status in organized society,” leaving the expatriate with “lost the right to have rights.”3Legal Information Institute. Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86 (1958) Nine years later it held that “Congress has no power under the Constitution to divest a person of his United States citizenship absent his voluntary renunciation thereof.”4Library of Congress. Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253 (1967)
The Immigration and Nationality Act follows the same logic. The deportation statute at 8 U.S.C. § 1227 applies only to “any alien” who fits within listed removable classes.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S. Code 1227 – Deportable Aliens There is no citizen category inside that framework, and there is no separate mechanism outside it.
Denaturalization: The One Path Back to Deportable Status
The government can, in narrow circumstances, ask a federal court to strip a naturalized person of citizenship. That process is called denaturalization, and it is authorized by 8 U.S.C. § 1451 when citizenship was “illegally procured or was procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.”6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1451 – Revocation of Naturalization If a court grants the government’s petition, revocation is effective as of the original naturalization date. The person reverts to non-citizen status and can then be placed in removal proceedings like any other non-citizen.
The two grounds are distinct. Illegal procurement means the applicant was never actually eligible in the first place — a residency shortfall, a failure of the good moral character requirement, or some other unmet prerequisite. Concealment or willful misrepresentation covers lying on the application: a hidden criminal record, false employment history, or undisclosed membership in a prohibited group.
The Burden of Proof Is High
Denaturalization is a civil case, but the government’s burden is much higher than an ordinary civil standard. The Supreme Court in Schneiderman v. United States required “clear, unequivocal, and convincing” evidence, and rejected any showing that rested on a “bare preponderance of evidence which leaves the issue in doubt.”7Congress.gov. ArtI.S8.C4.1.5.4 Unlawful Procurement of Citizenship Courts must also resolve doubtful facts and doubtful law in favor of the citizen.
There Is No Deadline
Section 1451 contains no statute of limitations, and federal courts have declined to import the general federal catch-all period, treating denaturalization as a fraud remedy rather than a penalty. The government can file decades after naturalization.
Family Members Can Lose Citizenship Too
If a parent is denaturalized for concealment or willful misrepresentation, any child who derived citizenship through that parent is “deemed to have lost” citizenship as well under 8 U.S.C. § 1451(d), regardless of whether the child lives in the United States or abroad.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1451 – Revocation of Naturalization Two exceptions matter. When the parent’s citizenship is revoked for illegal procurement rather than fraud, derivative family members keep their status. And when revocation is based on joining a prohibited organization or receiving a dishonorable military discharge within five years of naturalization, a spouse or child who was residing in the United States at the time of revocation keeps citizenship.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Effects of Revocation of Naturalization
Voluntarily Giving Up Citizenship
The other route out of citizenship is voluntary. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1481, a citizen can lose nationality by performing specific acts with the intent to relinquish U.S. status, including:
- Formally renouncing citizenship before a U.S. diplomatic officer abroad
- Naturalizing in a foreign country after age 18
- Taking an oath of allegiance to a foreign government after age 18
- Serving in a foreign military, particularly one engaged in hostilities against the United States, or serving as a commissioned or noncommissioned officer
- Accepting a foreign government position that requires an oath of allegiance or that carries that country’s nationality
The controlling word is “voluntarily.” Whoever claims that expatriation occurred must prove it by a preponderance of the evidence, and although the statute presumes the underlying act was voluntary, that presumption can be rebutted by showing coercion or accident.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1481 – Loss of Nationality by Native-Born or Naturalized Citizen A job at a foreign ministry or a spouse’s country’s passport does not, on its own, cost a person U.S. citizenship. Intent to give it up has to be shown.
Renunciation carries its own price tag. As of April 13, 2026, the State Department’s fee for processing a renunciation and issuing a Certificate of Loss of Nationality is $450, down from $2,350.10Federal Register. Schedule of Fees for Consular Services – Fee for Administrative Processing of Request for Certificate of Loss of Nationality Renouncers with sufficient income, net worth, or unresolved tax compliance also face a mark-to-market exit tax under 26 U.S.C. § 877A that treats their worldwide assets as sold the day before expatriation.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 877A – Tax Responsibilities of Expatriation
When Citizens Are Detained or Removed by Mistake
Legal immunity on paper does not always translate to the field. U.S. citizens have been held in immigration detention, placed in removal proceedings, and in some cases physically deported to countries they have no connection to. The pattern is usually error rather than intent.
Database problems drive most of these cases. A citizenship record that has not been updated, a clerical mistake, or a name-and-birthdate match with a non-citizen in the system can flag the wrong person for enforcement. Citizens born at home, in rural areas, or in U.S. territories sometimes lack standardized birth records, which slows verification. Language barriers or cognitive disabilities can also prevent someone from communicating their status during a fast-moving encounter. When a person lacks access to a lawyer or to relatives who can retrieve documents, removal can move faster than identity verification.
Getting Out and Getting Compensated
A citizen who is detained in immigration custody can file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, which authorizes courts to order the release of anyone held “in custody in violation of the Constitution or laws or treaties of the United States.”12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S.C. 2241 – Power to Grant Writ If the government cannot justify continued detention, the court orders release. This is the fastest judicial tool for a citizen sitting in an immigration facility.
After release, a wrongfully detained or removed citizen can pursue money damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act. FTCA claims run in two steps: an administrative claim filed with the responsible agency, usually the Department of Homeland Security, and then a federal court suit if the agency denies the claim or fails to respond within six months. Courts have recognized FTCA claims for false imprisonment, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress arising from wrongful immigration detention, and attorneys’ fees on claims resolved at the administrative stage are capped at 20% of any settlement. Citizens have also brought constitutional tort claims directly against individual officers under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments; courts have allowed those to proceed alongside FTCA suits, though qualified immunity is sometimes available depending on the facts.
What to Carry to Prove Citizenship
The single most useful precaution is keeping accessible proof of citizenship. What counts as proof depends on how citizenship was acquired.13U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Are You a United States Citizen?
- Born in the United States: a certified copy of the birth certificate. If the birth was never registered, a baptismal certificate, a certification from the attending doctor, or a notarized affidavit from someone present at the birth stating the exact date and place.
- Naturalized: the naturalization certificate. If it has been lost, tell the immigration judge and ICE officers, who can check the immigration file.
- Derivative citizenship: the person’s own birth certificate plus the parent’s naturalization certificate and proof of lawful permanent residence. For claims through one parent where the person was born before February 27, 1983, divorce, custody, or death records may also be needed.
- Born abroad to U.S. citizen parents: a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or the parent’s U.S. passport or birth certificate.
If removal proceedings are terminated because citizenship has been established, ask the judge for release on your own recognizance. Then apply for a Certificate of Citizenship using USCIS Form N-600, or apply for a U.S. passport. Either provides durable, portable proof and closes the door on the kind of ambiguity that produces wrongful detention in the first place.