The Department of Justice is revoking the legal status of 40 naturalized citizens who have been accused of various crimes. The sweeping effort is in line with the Trump administration’s escalation of immigration enforcement.

Who’s being targeted?
This week’s announcement marks the “largest denaturalization effort in modern history,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche (pictured above) in a press release. From an “individual convicted of espionage” to those convicted of other serious offenses, the defendants “concealed critical facts” from the government and “represent serious criminal offenders.” Under Trump’s leadership, the DOJ will “continue to employ the denaturalization process” to “maintain our national security” and “protect the American people.”

The denaturalization petitions were “lodged against the 40 individuals” between Aug. 10 and Oct. 2, said Time. They are accused of a variety of crimes, including “child sexual abuse, fraud and tax evasion.” Not all are “convicted of or pleaded guilty to violent crimes,” said USA Today. At least “19 of the 40 people” face denaturalization proceedings for “reasons related to accusations of lying on visa forms.”

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a federal court can revoke naturalized U.S. citizenship if the government establishes that the citizenship was “illegally obtained or procured through concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation,” said Newsweek.

How does this fit into Trump’s larger agenda?
The Justice Department has “made denaturalization a priority” under the Trump administration’s “hard-line immigration crackdown,” said Newsweek. In June 2025, the Justice Department’s Civil Division in an internal memo directed attorneys to “prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings in all cases permitted by law and supported by the evidence.” The guidance cited “fraud or willful misrepresentation in obtaining citizenship, certain criminal conduct, and national security concerns” among the grounds for pursuing cases,” said Newsweek.

What used to be a “rare process reserved for the most egregious offenders” has become “common during Trump’s presidential terms,” said Time. At one point, he “leveled the threat at his political enemies” like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and tech titan and “on-again, off-again ally” Elon Musk. The administration allegedly plans to file at least 250 denaturalization cases by this October, according to an unnamed senior Justice Department official, per CNN.

The term “hobbymaxxing” refers to filling up one’s schedule with as many hobbies as possible. And younger generations, increasingly “disenfranchised by AI” and averse to alcohol consumption, are filling their calendars, said Sadiba Hasan at The New York Times. Their newfound focus seems to be on “wholesome, creative and tactile activities” rather than digital ones.

Enriching and positive
In 2026, posts on TikTok using #hobbies saw a 15% increase compared to the previous year. There have been “plenty of conversations” about how hobbies can provide much-needed “fulfillment,” said Rainesford Stauffer at Time, but indulging in childhood amusements specifically can help people step back and see “how much” they have “changed.”

Bringing something from the “distant past” to your present can make for a “very positive experience,” said Dan P. McAdams, a psychology professor at Northwestern University, to Time. It involves “integrating your life around something that was once really important to you.”

Dissatisfying experiences with dating have also led to an increase in the “time, energy and disposable income” young people put into their “passions,” said Hasan. Instead of “spending hours swiping and messaging on apps,” they are focusing on having “packed” calendars that make their lives “feel rich, with or without a romantic partner.”

Taking it too far
Despite “funflation,” the rising cost of nonessential services and activities, there seems to be no slowing down when it comes to hobbies, said Sawdah Bhaimiya at CNBC. Hobby-related spending increased 7.9% year-over-year in August —  much higher than the 3.4% increase in other purchases, according to a Bank of America analysis. 

Indulgent youngsters should, however, be wary of developing a “hobbying obsession,” said Grey Battle at The Washington Post. Taking it “too far” means the activities start to feel like “additional jobs.” Digitalization has allowed us to optimize any activity through “metrics and digital record-keeping,” and some may even begin to view hobbies as a way to improve productivity. 

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani joins a vigil in Union Square led by a pro-peace Israeli group in remembrance of the victims of the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel. There were some delays when pro-Palestinian demonstrators disrupted the ceremony, with some shouting accusations at Mamdani of “betraying the Palestinian cause,” said Haaretz.
Charly Triballeau / AFP / Getty Images

The fall season is all about getting your thrills, and for the literary-inclined, there’s plenty afoot this month. Notable releases include a novel about police brutality, Barbara Kingsolver’s return, 1980s fiction, and a deep dive into the very real specter of artificial intelligence.

‘The AGI Chronicles’ 
Kevin Roose, a technology columnist at The New York Times, interviewed “over 150 insiders at OpenAI, Anthropic and Google DeepMind” for this deep dive into the “race to reach the next frontier” of AI, a “system that can outdo humans at nearly anything,” said the Times. (out now, $29, Macmillan Publishers)

‘The Occidental Book of the Dead’
A cop killing a teenager “sparks an epic disquisition on race” in the U.S.” in T. Geronimo Johnson’s forthcoming novel, said Kirkus Reviews. This “swing-for-the-fences novel” is both a “gripping procedural” and “high-literary study of American bigotry.” (out now, $34, Harper Collins Publishers)

‘Partita’
Barbara Kingsolver has “still got the goods in her assured tenth novel,” said The Boston Globe. Her character Livia’s “staid collegiate career” as a “scholarship piano prodigy” is upended by an affair with a “blue-collar socialist.” Decades later, her former lover “wants to reconnect.”  (out now, $32, Harper Collins Publishers)

‘Peck & Peck’
The new novel by Bonnie Garmus caters to readers who adore literary fiction set in “1980s New York City” that follows “young people with literary ambitions,” said The Skimm. The novel promises to be a “tender, thoughtful and thoroughly entertaining coming-of-adulthood story.” (out Tuesday, $30, Simon & Schuster)