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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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A Nigerian-born woman whom the Justice Department says first obtained a U.S. passport using another person’s identity in 1992 has had her American citizenship revoked after a federal judge found she illegally procured her naturalization.
Vivian Chike Obichere became a naturalized U.S. citizen in June 2013, a decade after she obtained lawful permanent resident status under her true identity. On October 13, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín entered a consent judgment revoking and setting aside Obichere’s naturalization, effective as of June 19, 2013.
Obichere agreed to judgment against her on one of four counts, based on limited facts agreed to by both sides. She did not admit the government’s other allegations, and the court dismissed the remaining three counts without deciding whether they were proven.
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The cases come amid a major push by the Trump administration to revoke citizenship from some naturalized Americans. At least 185 denaturalization cases were filed in the first 10 months of 2026, according to TRAC data. Filings rose sharply beginning in May, reaching 15 that month, 34 in June and a high of 50 in July, followed by 28 in August, 39 in September and 13 in October. The 2026 total already exceeds the roughly 125 cases filed nationwide between 2008 and 2025.
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Obichere used the name, Social Security number, birthplace, and birth date of a U.S. citizen identified as “C.C.O.” to fraudulently obtain a U.S. passport in 1992, the Justice Department said. She successfully renewed the passport in 2002, the department said.
In 2003, Obichere became a lawful permanent resident under her real identity. In 2012, she again tried to renew the passport issued under the C.C.O. identity while also applying to become a U.S. citizen under her real name, according to the Justice Department.
Obichere was convicted in federal court in 2015 of False Statement in Application and Use of Passport, according to the Justice Department.
The department said that during her naturalization interview, Obichere testified under oath that she had not used the name C.C.O. The Justice Department said she knew that statement was false.
The Justice Department filed its lawsuit seeking to revoke Obichere’s citizenship on July 30, 2026. The two sides later jointly asked the court to enter a consent judgment, and the court revoked her citizenship on October 13.
The ruling cancels Obichere’s naturalization dating back to June 19, 2013. It also requires her to surrender her naturalization certificate and government documents in her possession that specifically show U.S. citizenship, including U.S. passports or passport cards, subject to provisions covering documents that are no longer in her possession or control.
However, the ruling does not decide whether Obichere remains a lawful permanent resident, can be removed from the United States, can be detained, or is eligible for other forms of immigration relief or protection. She retains the right to contest those matters in future proceedings.
“Securing denaturalization is the final step to strip citizenship from those who conceal crimes or defraud the American people,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This administration will continue its historic denaturalization campaign to protect the value of U.S. citizenship.”
The Similar Case of Milagros Marileisis Acosta Torres
The Justice Department announced Obichere’s case as part of the Trump administration’s denaturalization efforts. The department also announced that a federal court in Florida revoked the citizenship of Milagros Marileisis Acosta Torres, a Cuban native who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2015.
The department said Acosta Torres had participated in a conspiracy to launder proceeds from a scheme in which her husband and others stole millions of dollars from a Florida tribal casino using fraudulent credit vouchers. According to the department, she falsely stated during the naturalization process that she had never committed a crime for which she had not been arrested.
Acosta Torres was convicted in federal court in 2020 and sentenced to six months in prison and nearly $150,000 in restitution. The Justice Department filed a denaturalization case against her in June, and a federal judge revoked her citizenship on October 14 after the parties agreed to a consent judgment.
The ruling comes as the Trump administration has increasingly pursued denaturalization and as federal authorities separately investigate the immigration history of Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. Omar has denied wrongdoing, and no denaturalization lawsuit has been filed against her.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Cannon, Gray R. Thomas
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