- The Trump administration filed a denaturalisation complaint against 56-year-old Ghanaian national Francis Darko Asamoah in Virginia
- Asamoah allegedly lied under oath during his 2013 naturalisation interview, claiming he had no children to conceal details about his marriage
- USCIS and the Department of Justice have filed similar denaturalisation actions against dozens of individuals in recent months
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TUKO.co.ke journalist Japhet Ruto has over eight years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting, offering insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.
The Trump administration has moved to strip a 56-year-old Ghanaian national of his US citizenship, more than a decade after he was naturalised, following allegations that he made false statements during his immigration proceedings.
Source: Facebook
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), working alongside the Department of Justice, filed a denaturalisation complaint against Francis Darko Asamoah in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Investigators allege he deliberately lied on his naturalisation application to avoid scrutiny of his marriage to an American citizen.
What was Asamoah accused of?
Asamoah became a lawful permanent resident through his marriage to a US citizen before being naturalised in 2013.
During his naturalisation interview that year, he testified under oath that he had no children.
However, a Virginia certificate of live birth identified him as the father of a child born in July 2011, whose mother was not his American spouse.
According to USCIS, the false testimony blocked immigration authorities from properly examining whether his marriage to the US citizen was genuine.
Shortly after obtaining citizenship, Asamoah divorced his American spouse.
"Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalised US citizen's citizenship may be revoked and their certificate of naturalisation cancelled if the naturalisation was illegally obtained or obtained by hiding important facts or by lying," USCIS said in a statement on its website.
Broader denaturalisation push under Trump
The action against Asamoah is part of a wider campaign launched by the Trump administration targeting individuals whose citizenship is alleged to have been fraudulently obtained.
The charges reviewed were filed over the past couple of months.
Among the other cases pursued in the same period, individuals faced denaturalisation on grounds including acting as an agent for a foreign government and other crimes.
USCIS and the Department of Justice have framed the effort as an enforcement priority, with the agencies partnering to file actions against dozens of individuals accused of serious offences or fraud in their naturalisation processes.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
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