Miami Mayor’s U.S. Citizenship Targeted in DOJ Denaturalization Case
The Department of Justice filed a civil denaturalization complaint this week asking a federal court to strip the U. S. citizenship of a former miami mayor, saying he used a false identity and misrepresented his immigration history when he naturalized.
Miami Mayor faces denaturalization in federal court
Federal attorneys filed the denaturalization case against Philippe Bien-Aime in the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleging the man who naturalized as Bien-Aime is the same individual who entered the United States in 1997 under a fraudulent, “photo-switched” passport using the name Jean Philippe Janvier.
Alleged identity and immigration fraud
The civil complaint says an immigration judge determined on July 31, 2000, that the person entered fraudulently and ordered removal to Haiti; the complaint says the individual appealed the removal order then later withdrew the appeal while representing that he had returned to live in Haiti. The complaint further alleges Department of Homeland Security records, including fingerprint comparisons, show the person who naturalized as Philippe Bien-Aime in 2006 is the same person previously ordered removed under the name Philippe Janvier.
The complaint also alleges Bien-Aime married a U. S. citizen and obtained permanent resident status but that marriage was invalid because he was already married to a Haitian citizen, and that the divorce certificate presented to immigration authorities was fraudulent.
Court fight and political implications
Philippe Bien-Aime was elected mayor of North Miami in 2019 and resigned in 2022 to run for a seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission, a race he lost; the complaint notes those events while laying out the allegations. Peterson St. Philippe, an attorney for Bien-Aime, said the defense is reviewing the complaint and "will be responding to the allegations through the appropriate legal channels. "
U. S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said, included with the filing, “United States citizenship is a privilege grounded in honesty and allegiance to this country. If proven, we will ask the Court to revoke a status that was never lawfully obtained. ” The complaint was filed as the Trump administration is expanding efforts to revoke U. S. citizenship for some foreign-born Americans.
The case is now pending in the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where federal prosecutors have asked the court to revoke Bien-Aime’s citizenship and the defense has said it will respond through the court process.
