Justice Department seeks to strip citizenship of man convicted in Minnesota of terrorism charge

Sarah Nelson, Star Tribune on May 8, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — A man convicted in Minnesota of a terrorism charge nearly 20 years ago is among a dozen people whom the Trump administration moved to denaturalize on Friday as part of the president’s broader immigration crackdown.

The Justice Department filed a civil complaint in Minnesota federal court on May 8 to revoke the U.S. citizenship of Salah Osman Ahmed, 44, who pleaded guilty in 2009 to providing support to terrorist organization al-Shabab. Osman is among 12 U.S. citizens born overseas whom the DOJ moved to denaturalize after officials say they committed serious offenses, including sexual abuse of a minor and war crimes.

The move comes as the Trump administration pushes to ramp up denaturalizations. U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., introduced a bill in January seeking the denaturalization of anyone convicted of fraud, terrorism or an aggravated felony within 10 years of their naturalization.

“Individuals implicated in committing fraud, heinous crimes such as sexual abuse, or expressing support for terrorism should never have been naturalized as United States citizens,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a prepared statement about the filings.

“The Trump administration is taking action to correct these egregious violations of our immigration system,” the statement continued. “Those who intentionally concealed their criminal histories or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process will face the fullest extent of the law.”

According to the government’s complaint, Ahmed, who was born in Somalia, was admitted to the United States in 1999 and became a naturalized citizen in August 2007. The complaint said that within months, Ahmed traveled to Somalia to join al-Shabab, using money he raised under the guise of building new mosques in rural areas. While there, Ahmed helped build a training camp for the group. The complaint said Ahmed developed a skin condition while at the camp that led to his return to the United States in April 2008.

The complaint said Ahmed used a fraudulent marriage certificate as an alibi for his travels.

Daniel Gerdts, Ahmed’s attorney, disputed the U.S. government’s characterization in the complaint in a statement to The Minnesota Star Tribune.

“This case is seriously misguided,” he said. “The complaint inaccurately states the relevant facts and omits the most important ones. The law, moreover, does not support the denaturalization they request.”

Gerdts said he was representing Ahmed when the federal court granted his request to end his supervised release early because of his law-abiding behavior.

Others included in the Justice Department’s denaturalization effort include a Catholic priest born in Colombia convicted of sexually assaulting a minor, a former Gambian military police officer accused of war crimes and a man from Uzbekistan who allegedly entered into a sham marriage. The remaining immigrants are from China, India, Kenya, Iraq, Bolivia, Morocco and Nigeria.

Court records show Ahmed’s denaturalization case was handed to the chief U.S. district judge in Minnesota, Patrick Schiltz. Immigrants facing denaturalization will have a chance to argue before a judge against having their citizenship stripped. Federal law says a court can revoke a person’s citizenship if their application was obtained illegally, fraudulently or had willful misrepresentations.

In Ahmed’s case, the Justice Department argues he misrepresented his oath of allegiance to the United States in his citizenship application by affiliating himself with terrorists.

The U.S. government asked the court to strip Ahmed from any benefits tied to being an American citizen and require him to return his passport and other U.S. citizenship documents. A future hearing was not yet scheduled.