The Trump administration is preparing to expand its effort to strip U.S. citizenship from naturalized Americans accused of obtaining that status fraudulently, according to a report by CBS News.

The Justice Department is expected to announce Monday that it has filed denaturalization actions against 17 naturalized citizens in federal courts across the country.

Officials allege the individuals either concealed criminal conduct during the citizenship process or otherwise failed to meet legal requirements for naturalization.

According to court filings reviewed by CBS News, the cases involve people accused or convicted of a range of offenses, including child sexual abuse, fraud, and immigration-related crimes.

Federal prosecutors argue that the individuals were not eligible for citizenship because they lacked the "good moral character" required under U.S. immigration law or provided false information during the naturalization process.

While federal law has long allowed the government to revoke citizenship obtained through fraud or misrepresentation, denaturalization cases have historically been rare.

The Trump administration has made expanded use of the authority, arguing it is necessary to protect the integrity of the immigration system. Individuals who lose their citizenship can face deportation proceedings.

Among those named in the filings are a Haitian-born man accused of sexually abusing his daughter, a native of the former Yugoslavia convicted of sexually abusing a child younger than 15, and a Mexican immigrant convicted of receiving sexually explicit images of minors.

Other cases involve a former Catholic priest from Colombia accused of child sexual abuse and a Philippines-born man who pleaded guilty to a child sex offense.

The Justice Department also targeted individuals accused of financial crimes.

Those cases include the daughter of a Colombian drug trafficker accused of money laundering, a Jamaican-born man convicted of wire fraud, and a Cuban-born woman accused of defrauding a tribal casino.

Several others are accused of using false identities during the immigration process.

Denaturalization cases are handled through civil proceedings, allowing the government to revoke citizenship if it can prove that it was obtained illegally or through material misrepresentation. The action can ultimately lead to deportation proceedings.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the administration intends to aggressively pursue cases involving alleged abuse of the immigration system.

"Criminal aliens are lying about their past crimes, including drug dealers, sexual predators, and fraudsters," Blanche said in a statement released ahead of the announcement.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin also defended the effort, saying the administration would continue using legal mechanisms to revoke citizenship from individuals who violated immigration laws.

"American citizenship is a privilege, and it must be earned honestly," Mullin said. "If you come here, break our laws, and lie in your immigration proceedings, you forfeit that privilege."

The latest actions represent a significant expansion of the administration's denaturalization campaign.