Chicago Man Threatened with Denaturalization After Alleged Identity Fraud and Prior Exclusion

The Justice Department has lodged a complaint in an Illinois federal court seeking to denaturalize Emmanuel Tayo Akinkunmi, a Chicago resident who became a U.S. citizen on June 8, 2011. Prosecutors allege that Akinkunmi concealed material facts, used several aliases—including Ezekiel Aremu Adetayo—and misrepresented his immigration history, including a 1993 abandonment of his green card and a 1997 exclusion order upheld by the Board of Immigration Appeals.

After being granted a new green card in 2000 under his current name, he allegedly denied any prior exclusion when applying for citizenship in 2010. The lawsuit arrives amid the Trump administration’s largest denaturalization campaign, which has targeted dozens of naturalized individuals for alleged fraud. No attorney was listed for Akinkunmi at the time of reporting, and the government’s request could lead to loss of citizenship and possible deportation.