The United States Department of Justice has filed a civil action in the Eastern District of New York seeking to revoke the citizenship of Gurmeet Singh, originally from India. According to the complaint, Singh concealed his involvement in a kidnapping and sexual assault when applying for U.S. naturalization.
Authorities allege that Singh, while working as a taxicab driver, kidnapped and raped a female passenger after she fell asleep in his vehicle. The complaint states that he threatened her with a knife, bound and gagged her, blindfolded her, removed her clothes, and assaulted her.
Singh became a U.S. citizen on October 19, 2011. In May 2014, he was convicted in New York of Rape in the First Degree and Kidnapping in the Second Degree as a Sexually Motivated Felony. He is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi announced the filing alongside Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; and Brett A. Shumate, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.
“This Department of Justice will continue to strip citizenship from those who commit heinous crimes and conceal them during the naturalization process,” stated Attorney General Bondi. “American citizenship is a great and sacred privilege that must be earned honestly."
“The defendant in this case secured U.S. citizenship through deceit, and on the heels of committing the heinous crimes of rape and kidnapping,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “This case, brought to strip the defendant of citizenship that he did not earn and to which he was not entitled, demonstrates our Office’s commitment to protecting the American people and defending the sanctity of U.S. citizenship.”
“This individual’s vile acts prove that he should not have been granted U.S. citizenship,” stated Assistant Attorney General Shumate. “Singh entered our country through family-based immigration laws, then committed horrible crimes before lying about them to become a U.S. citizen. We will now correct this injustice.”
Under federal law, specifically the Immigration and Nationality Act, naturalized citizens can lose their status if it was obtained illegally or by concealing material facts or making willful misrepresentations.
The investigation was conducted by the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation along with staff from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York—which prosecutes federal crimes and represents civil matters across Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau County and Suffolk County (official website). The office also supports victims’ assistance programs (official website).
Assistant United States Attorney Layaliza Soloveichik is handling litigation for this case with Trial Attorney Christopher Lyerla under review by John Inkeles.
Officials emphasized that all claims made are allegations at this stage; no liability has been determined.
