“Citizenship is a privilege grounded in honesty and allegiance”: DOJ has filed to strip former Florida Mayor of citizenship

The Department of Justice has filed a complaint to strip U.S. citizenship from Phillipe Bien-Aime, who used to be the mayor of North Miami. According to Newsweek, it’s all tied to claims that he used two different identities to get his legal status in the first place. Bien-Aime served as North Miami’s mayor from 2019 through 2022, so this definitely raises some serious questions. 

The DOJ claims that he fraudulently married a U.S. citizen to gain legal status, while he supposedly already had a wife back in Haiti. Denaturalization cases like this are quite rare in the U.S. However, the Trump administration has pushed to increase investigations to remove individuals who are in the country illegally. A DOJ memo to meet this requirement led to concerns that  U.S. citizens could potentially lose their status without solid cause.

The complaint, filed in the Southern District of Florida, claims that Bien-Aime entered the U.S. in 2000 using a photo-switched passport under his alias, Jean Phillipe Janvier. The very next year, he was ordered to leave the country. He appealed that order, but then he withdrew the appeal, claiming he had gone back home to Haiti. The complaint says he violated the order and actually stayed in the U.S. under his new identity and then married an American woman.

If true, this is a legitimate case of fraud

The DOJ also alleges that Bien-Aime made multiple false and fraudulent statements during his naturalization proceedings under the Bien-Aime identity. The alleged fraud was eventually uncovered by comparing fingerprints provided under both of his identities. 

If these allegations prove to be true, Bien-Aime’s time as mayor of North Miami could definitely be called into question. The city’s code clearly states that candidates for public office must be qualified electors, and that means they need to be U.S. citizens in order to vote and register.

U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones made a strong statement: “United States citizenship is a privilege grounded in honesty and allegiance to this country. The complaint alleges that this defendant built his citizenship on fraud.” He emphasized, “The fact that he later served as an elected mayor makes the alleged deception even more serious, because public office carries a duty of candor and respect for the rule of law.”

Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division echoed those sentiments, stating, “This Administration will not permit fraudsters and tricksters who cheat their way to the gift of U.S. citizenship. The passage of time does not diminish blatant immigration fraud.”

Bien-Aime’s attorney, Peterson St. Philippe, did provide a brief comment, saying, “We are aware of the government’s filing and are in the process of reviewing it. We intend to respond through the appropriate legal channels. As this is a pending litigation, we will not be commenting further at this time.”

As advocates push to protect refugees and voting rights, it is cases like this that strengthen MAGA arguments, making it harder to protect the vulnerable.