An Indian-origin taxi driver has been stripped of his US citizenship after being convicted of rape.
The 55-year-old man, Gurmeet Singh, was convicted in 2014 and sentenced to 20 years in prison after he abducted and raped a female passenger at knifepoint in New York in 2011.
In a statement issued by the US Department of Justice on August 31, 2026, Attorney General Todd Blanche said: “American citizenship is not a shield for criminals.”
“Gurmeet Singh, a convicted rapist from India, is no longer a US citizen. He concealed a rape and kidnapping during the naturalization process, and a federal court has now revoked his citizenship. This Department took this case across the finish line, and we will continue to move expeditiously on denaturalization referrals. Fraudulently obtained citizenship will not protect criminals from justice,” the statement said.
“Singh unlawfully obtained the privileges of U.S. citizenship by concealing horrible criminal acts,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will continue to protect the integrity of the citizenship process and hold accountable those who defraud our immigration system.”
A native of India, Singh entered the United States in February 1992 as a visitor for a temporary period not to exceed six months. He then remained in the United States without authorization for years until a family-based immigrant visa petition allowed him to become a permanent resident in June 2000, the statement said.