A naturalized citizen living in Carteret was stripped of his citizenship after authorities learned he used a false name around the time he entered the country a quarter-century ago, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.

A judge revoked Baljinder Singh's citizenship Friday after he was accused in September of using the alias to avoid deportation for decades.

Singh arrived in the United States from Hong Kong in 1991, giving the name Davinder Singh at San Francisco International Airport. He had no proof of identity.

Singh was scheduled to appear at an immigration hearing but failed to show up and a deportation order was issued. On Feb. 6, 1992, Singh filed an application for asylum under the name Baljinder Singh.

Singh married in 1996 and gave up his asylum application, becoming a naturalized citizen in 2006 with his wife filing a visa petition on his behalf.

Singh is the first person de-naturalized under Operation Janus, an initiative by the Department of Homeland Security to weed out naturalized citizens who circumvented fingerprint and other background checks during the naturalization process. Singh's is one of an estimated 1,600 cases that have been or will be referred for prosecution, authorities said.

"The defendant exploited our immigration system and unlawfully secured the ultimate immigration benefit of naturalization, which undermines both the nation's security and our lawful immigration system," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Readler of the Justice Department's Civil Division. "The Justice Department will continue to use every tool to protect the integrity of our nation's immigration system, including the use of civil denaturalization."

Singh is now considered a lawful permanent resident and can be deported at the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.