Can Trump deport 'CRAZY' Musk and 'COMMUNIST' Mamdani: What is denaturalisation and how the US laws work?

US President Donald Trump has talked about deportation of tech giant Elon Musk and New York's Democratic mayor candidate Zohran Mamdani in the recent days. Trump said he will look into the possibility of deportation or denaturalisation. While he had a fallout with his former ‘buddy' Musk over ‘big and beautiful’ tax and spending bill, he targeted Mamdani after New York Democratic Primary and called him ‘100% Communist Lunatic." Many from Trump’s team and his supporters have spoken about deportation, but is it really possible as per the laws of the United States? Here's what we know:

Can Elon Musk be deported?

Elon Musk, originally from South Africa, became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2002 after first coming to the U.S. on a student visa in the 1990s. Prior to that, he was a citizen of Canada. Accusations that Musk was in the U.S. illegally during the early stages of his career have circulated, including a 2005 email in which Musk reportedly said he applied to Stanford University simply because he otherwise had "no legal right to stay in the country." Musk never enrolled and instead started his first company, Zip2.

Steve Bannon, Trump’s former advisor, has claimed Musk entered the US illegally and called for his deportation. He also suggested Musk’s alleged drug use warrants suspension of his security clearances. Musk has denied claims he was in the US illegally, calling his status at the time ‘a legal grey area’.

However, denaturalizing a US citizen—specially one who has held citizenship for over two decades—is extremely rare. So, only if Trump and his team can prove that Musk entered US fraudulently - can there be a case for denaturalisation. The question here is whether or not Musk lied to the US government during the process of becoming a citizen. The process of denaturalisation is also lenthy. It would begin with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) sending such a case to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ then files a revocation of naturalization actions (for civil denaturalisation cases) or criminal charges (for criminal denaturalisation cases) in federal court. A defendant can either defend themselves or renounce US citizenship. If the person is stripped of their citizenship, their status returns to that he or she had prior to becoming a citizen. In case their immigration status is unlawful, they can be deported immediately.

Can Zohran Mamdani be deported?

Republicans have called for Zohran Mamdani's deportation after he won the New York Democratic Primary. During an interview with Fox News, Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about Republican Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee, who has called for denaturalisation proceedings against Mamdani, partly based on rap lyrics Mamdani allegedly wrote in 2017 referencing "terrorism." Leavitt responded, “Well, I’ll let the president speak to that. I have not seen those claims, but surely, if they are true, it’s something that should be investigated.” Meanwhile, other Republicans have made racist remark against Mamdani and have asked him to leave the US with Representative Brandon Gill telling the mayoral candidate to “go back to the Third World” after seeing him eat with his hands.

However, Mamdani deportation is more of a political call as there is no legal basis. Zohran Mamdani obtained citizenship in 2018, he enjoys the same constitutional protections as any other citizen, whether natural-born or naturalized. Deportation laws primarily apply to non-citizens such as permanent residents or undocumented immigrants. Once citizenship is granted, it is very difficult to reverse unless there are extraordinary circumstances. Mamdani has not been accused of any crimes or fraudulent behaviour related to his naturalisation that would justify stripping him of his citizenship. Here too, similar to Musk, the only process is denaturalisation, but there is no evidence that Mamdani lied or committed fraud during their naturalisation, or was involved in criminal activity prior to becoming a citizen that was concealed, or engaged in actions such as supporting terrorism or violent overthrow of the government. Even if there would have been one, the government must prove its case convincingly in federal court.

Trump vs Musk

Musk and Trump renewed their fight - this time about the EV subsidy in the United States of America. The war of words broke out after the Tesla boss posted non-stop about Trump's ‘big beautiful bill’, stating that a new ‘America Party’ will be launched if the bill is passed. In response, Trump said that he would have to return to South Africa if he didn't get EV subsidies in the US. Later, while he was on his way to Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz, a reporter asked Donald Trump whether Musk would be deported after he criticised Trump’s tax spending bill. He said, “I don’t know. We’ll have to take a look.” He also jokingly mentioned that he may deploy the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to investigate the Tesla CEO saying, “DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon.” He added, "We'll have to take a look. We might have to put DOGE on Elon. You know what DOGE is? The monster that might have to go back and eat Elon. Wouldn’t that be terrible? He gets a lot of subsidies,” said Donald Trump.

Trump vs Mamdani

Trump said during a Tuesday press conference at a detention center in Florida referred to as “Alligator Alcatraz” that if Mamdani prevents ICE agents from conducting their operations to deport people, then "we’ll have to arrest him." He also mentioned false claims that Mamdani entered the country illegally. On a question of Mamdani's possible deportation, Trump said, “We’re going to be watching that very carefully, and a lot of people are saying he’s here illegally. We’re going to look at everything.” In a sharp response, Mamdani, who has won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, has said that he will not accept this "intimidation." In a statement on X, Mamdani said that he was threatened by the US president not because he broke any law but because he refuses to let ICE "terrorise the city."