Trump admin's 'unprecedented' ramp-up of immigration scheme stuns reporters

One of the Trump administration's deportation schemes has seen an "unprecedented" rise in activity over the last year that stunned two CNN reporters on Thursday.

Priscilla Alvarez, a CNN correspondent, and Phil Mattingly, who hosted Thursday's broadcast of "The Lead," discussed the Trump administration's efforts to denaturalize U.S. citizens throughout the second administration. Alvarez noted that only 166 denaturalization cases have been filed over the last 18 years, a figure the Trump administration is now trying to surpass in just one year by filing 250 cases.

"This is a significant ramping up. In fact, it's unprecedented," Alvarez said.

Immigration was one of the key issues that delivered the White House to Trump during the 2024 election. Administration officials have also floated the idea of suspending habeas corpus, which requires the government to explain why it detained someone, an idea that was shot down by bureaucrats inside the administration.

"Oftentimes with immigration in this administration, when you see something like this, it's a leading indicator of something to come or a scaling process that there are plans for," Mattingly said. "Do we have any sense of how far they want to take this?"

Alvarez noted that the administration is putting "a lot of resources" behind the initiative, suggesting it plans to continue ramping up the operation.