It began with a letter. On June 26, 2025, Republican Congressman Andy Ogles called on the United States Department of Justice to investigate the naturalization of Zohran Mamdani - a Democratic lawmaker from New York, Muslim, socialist, son of Ugandan parents. The suspicion? Mamdani may have concealed political sympathies during his naturalization process, including support for Palestinian activists or quoting anti-government rap lyrics. In a functioning democracy, that would not be a crime but an expression of free speech - yet in Trump's America, that hardly seems to matter anymore. Because Ogles' letter did not come out of nowhere - it landed in an increasingly threatening political climate where not just visas, but entire citizenships are now up for review.
In fact, weeks earlier, the Trump administration had already quietly expanded the scope for so-called denaturalizations in a secret DOJ memorandum. The targets are no longer just terror suspects or criminals, but also individuals who may have "concealed material information" during their naturalization - a catch-all clause which, critics warn, can just as easily be used against dissidents and Democrats. While the State Department revoked the visas of British musicians over anti-government slogans, it now also targeted Mamdani - even though he has been a US citizen since 2018. His political closeness to socialist groups, his participation in pro-Gaza protests, and certain social media posts became the focus of public defamation. And when Mamdani recently expressed solidarity with detained activist Mahmoud Khalil - a green card holder who had protested the Gaza war at Columbia - a coordinated campaign against him began.
The response from the White House was deliberately noncommittal. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said they had not yet reviewed the allegations against Mamdani, but that "if they are true," it should be investigated. That sent a clear signal. The door to denaturalizing politically inconvenient people had been opened. A DOJ spokesperson confirmed receipt of Ogles’ letter - but issued no denial. And while Ogles declared in a Newsmax interview that Mamdani’s membership in the Democratic Socialists of America alone should "be enough to revoke his citizenship," he also emphasized that even if the process failed, it would still be useful: "It's about the message. It creates the blueprint." For others. For Muslims. For the left. For people who were born in America - just not biologically, but politically. The reactions to this threat were divided. Senator Chris Murphy called it "racist bullshit" on Bluesky, serving only billionaires. Pramila Jayapal, herself a naturalized US citizen of Indian origin, called the development "completely unlawful" and "an attack on everything this country stood for." Yet in a climate where even Elon Musk’s naturalization is suddenly being questioned - by Republicans and Democrats alike - defending liberal rights becomes difficult. While Trump allies speculate about applying the Cold War-era "Communist Control Act" against Mamdani, right-wing media has already ideologically prepared the ground. Newsmax, Fox, Substacks, and comment sections spin the narrative of the Muslim socialist who seeks to "destroy America from within." Ogles himself openly talks of "sleeper cells." Zohran Mamdani, whose run for mayor of New York City had already been overshadowed by an Islamophobic campaign, responded calmly but clearly: "It’s hard to be repeatedly slandered - just because of my faith." The Democratic Socialists of America stood firmly behind him. In a statement, they wrote: "Only democratic socialism can stop this rising fascism." And yet, the fear is real. Because the logic of revocation - once introduced - does not stop at symbolic figures. What begins with Mamdani could tomorrow affect students, union organizers, journalists, human rights lawyers. In this new logic, those who criticize America do not belong here. And that is exactly what makes this policy so dangerous: It disconnects citizenship from rights and transforms it into ideological obedience. Into preemptive silence. Into fear of posting the wrong tweet. If this logic prevails, it will not only be Zohran Mamdani who is under attack - but the Constitution itself. Because in the end, it is no longer the law that decides who is American. It is the regime. And whoever criticizes it loses the right to stay.
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