United States v. Garcia, 3:15-cr-00040

Gregory Garcia was convicted of unlawful procurement of naturalization under 18 U.S.C. § 1425(a) based on his naturalization obtained August 14, 2007.
The government moved to revoke Garcia’s naturalization; Garcia opposed and alternatively sought a stay.
The court evaluated double jeopardy, due process, the effect of an appeal, and prejudice from delay.
The court concluded revocation is mandatory under 8 U.S.C. § 1451(e) following a § 1425 conviction and is automatic/ministerial.
The court found no double jeopardy violation, no due process violation from timing, and that an appeal does not prevent automatic revocation.
The court ordered Garcia’s naturalization and certificate canceled, enjoined him from claiming rights as a U.S. citizen from that naturalization, and required surrender of the certificate and other indicia of citizenship.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether revocation of naturalization after a § 1425 conviction violates double jeopardy	Revocation is part of the original proceeding, not a new punishment	Revocation constitutes additional punishment/double jeopardy	Revocation is not double jeopardy; it is ministerial and part of the original proceeding
Whether revocation is mandatory after conviction under § 1425	Statute (8 U.S.C. § 1451(e)) mandates revocation upon conviction for unlawful procurement	Revocation should be discretionary or stayed pending appeal	Revocation is mandatory/automatic under the statute
Whether an appeal prevents automatic revocation	Automatic revocation occurs despite appeal	An appeal should stay revocation	Appeal does not prevent automatic revocation
Whether delay between naturalization and revocation violates due process	Delay does not render revocation unconstitutional; Congress enacted no time bar	Long delay prejudiced defendant and deprived due process	Delay did not deny due process; no time bar and no prejudice shown

United States v. Maduno, 40 F.3d 1212 (11th Cir.) (naturalization revocation after fraud conviction is appropriate)
United States v. Incencio, 328 F.3d 1207 (9th Cir.) (revocation after long delay does not necessarily violate due process)
United States v. Moses, 94 F.3d 182 (5th Cir.) (revocation is ministerial following fraud-conviction)
United States v. Latchin, 554 F.3d 709 (7th Cir.) (due process satisfied in revocation process)
Costello v. United States, 365 U.S. 265 (1961) (no statutory time bar on revocation; naturalized citizen had no absolute right to citizenship)