Last week, U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno introduced a bill to outlaw dual citizenship, which would force Americans with a second nationality through their ancestral homeland to either relinquish it or risk losing their U.S. citizenship.
Moreno claims his bill is about requiring people to “show their loyalty” to America, but his proposal has prompted significant pushback among millions of loyal Americans who hold dual citizenship.
Moreno, who emigrated to the U.S. from Colombia, appears out of touch with American history and our nation’s values. Dual citizenship has nothing to do with a person’s loyalty. Italian Americans, for instance, who choose to obtain dual citizenship do so out of familial pride to celebrate heritage, language, customs and traditions. It is a way of honoring our ancestors and has long been a deeply rooted practice among immigrants of various backgrounds who came to this country seeking a better life.
To force Americans to erase their pride in their heritage to “prove” their loyalty is nothing more than a political stunt. The bill serves no purpose because it solves no problem.
This issue isn’t confined to the United States. Recently, the Italian government tightened its own citizenship laws. Under new rules advanced by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and approved by parliament, only children and grandchildren of Italian citizens are now eligible for Italian citizenship by descent.
That change effectively cuts off the path for many Italian Americans who spent years collecting documents and preparing applications for dual citizenship, a process that often costs thousands of dollars in legal and translation fees.
At a diplomatic dinner in Washington, D.C. this past July, ISDA President Basil Russo, who also leads the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (COPOMIAO), raised these concerns directly with Tajani, stressing that Italian Americans feel unjustly penalized as a proud community is now being told that its link to its ancestral homeland may no longer matter.
Whether in Washington or Rome, efforts to restrict dual citizenship threaten to sever the cultural bonds that connect countless families to their heritage.
And among those Americans who hold dual citizenship are families who cherish that connection, even as they now face pressure from lawmakers. Perhaps Moreno should have consulted community leaders before introducing this misguided bill.
“Whether at home or abroad, attempts to limit dual citizenship risk disenfranchising millions whose families — Italian or otherwise — helped build this country. We, whose families came from Italy, are especially proud of our ancestral homeland, and we will make our voices heard in Washington and in Rome,” said Russo.
COPOMIAO’s leaders initiated direct correspondence with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and Russo will soon meet with Italy’s Ambassador to the U.S., Marco Peronaci, to discuss the issue at length.
More updates will soon follow on this developing situation.
