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(WKBN) – Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) has introduced a bill to establish that citizens of the United States “must have sole and exclusive allegiance to the U.S.”
The “Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025” would make it so that no one may be a citizen or national of the U.S. while simultaneously having any foreign citizenship. If passed, a U.S. citizen who voluntarily acquires foreign citizenship would have to relinquish their U.S. citizenship after the date of enactment.
Those who have dual citizenship would have to submit a written renunciation of foreign citizenship to the secretary of State or a written renunciation of U.S. citizenship to the secretary of Homeland Security no later than one year after the enactment of the act.
An individual who doesn’t comply will be deemed to have voluntarily relinquished United States citizenship for purposes of section 349(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the bill states.
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The secretary of State would also be required to create regulations, procedures for declaration, verification and recordkeeping for exclusive citizenship, as well as coordinate with the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure any individual deemed to have relinquished citizenship is “appropriately recorded in Federal systems and treated as an alien for purposes of the immigration laws.”
“Being an American citizen is an honor and a privilege — and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing. It’s time to end dual citizenship for good,” Moreno said.
If passed, the bill would take effect 180 days after enactment.
Multiple Supreme Court cases have been instrumental in establishing dual citizenship as a constitutional right, including Talbot v. Jansen (1795), which ruled that U.S. citizens who acquire foreign citizenship do not have to waive their U.S. citizenship, and Afroyim v. Rusk (1967), which ruled that a U.S. citizen cannot lose their citizenship unless they willingly surrender it.
While the U.S. government doesn’t keep statistics on dual citizens, it’s estimated that more than 40 million Americans, many of whom are Mexican-Americans, are eligible for dual citizenship, according to International Living.
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