Cuba-born traveler must surrender U.S. passports after citizenship revoked

A federal judge in Miami has stripped a Cuba-born woman of her U.S. citizenship after finding she hid her role in a money-laundering conspiracy linked to the theft of millions of dollars from a Florida tribal casino. U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga revoked the naturalisation of Milagros Marileisis Acosta Torres in a consent judgment entered on 14 October 2026.

Key facts

• Acosta Torres became a naturalised U.S. citizen on 6 November 2015 and lost that citizenship through a consent judgment entered on 14 October 2026.
• The revocation is retroactive to 6 November 2015, the date she originally became a citizen.
• She was convicted in 2020 of conspiracy to commit money laundering and sentenced to six months in prison plus nearly $150,000 in restitution.
• The underlying theft involved $5.3 million taken from the Miccosukee Casino & Resort in western Miami-Dade through false credit vouchers.
• She was given 10 days to surrender her naturalisation certificate, copies and any U.S. passports or other citizenship documents.

What happened?

Altonaga cancelled Acosta Torres' certificate of naturalisation effective as of 6 November 2015 and ordered her naturalisation revoked retroactively to that date. The judgment bars her from claiming any rights, privileges or benefits under documents establishing the U.S. citizenship she obtained in 2015.

The Justice Department filed a civil denaturalization complaint against her on 8 June 2026, arguing that she had obtained citizenship illegally by concealing her involvement in the criminal conspiracy. The case ended in an agreement between federal prosecutors and Acosta Torres to revoke her naturalisation rather than proceed with contested litigation.

Why was her citizenship revoked?

According to the Justice Department, Acosta Torres took part in the conspiracy involving money stolen from a casino through fraudulent credit vouchers before she took the oath of citizenship. Her husband and several accomplices stole $5.3 million from the Miccosukee Casino & Resort in western Miami-Dade by creating false credit vouchers. Authorities said she later carried out financial transactions with the stolen proceeds to disguise their fraudulent origin and avoid reporting requirements under federal and state laws.

When she applied for citizenship and attended her naturalisation interview in 2015, the Justice Department said she falsely answered that she had never committed a crime or offence for which she had not been arrested. That deception became the basis for the civil lawsuit to strip her of citizenship. She had already been convicted in 2020 in the Southern District of Florida of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

What documents must she hand over?

Acosta Torres has 10 days to surrender her certificate of naturalisation, along with any copies in her possession, to government attorneys. She must also turn over any U.S. passports, passport cards, enhanced driver's licences or other documents evidencing citizenship, whether valid or expired, and make good-faith efforts to recover copies held by other people.

Both parties, including Acosta Torres personally, must appear at a compliance hearing to show the requirements have been met. The hearing can be cancelled if the government notifies the court that she has fully complied.

Does the ruling affect her immigration status?

No. The judgment does not order her deportation and does not establish what immigration status she may hold after losing her citizenship.

The denaturalization case was resolved through negotiation: on 10 August, attorneys for both sides jointly asked to pause discovery proceedings, and the following day Altonaga closed the case while giving the parties time to finalise an agreement, allowing either side to request reopening if talks failed. On 13 October, both sides filed a joint motion seeking entry of a consent judgment revoking her naturalisation. The compliance hearing is the next scheduled step.