The Oxymoron of Dual Citizenship

In December, Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio, introduced the “Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025,” which states, “An individual may not be a citizen or national of the United States while simultaneously possessing any foreign citizenship.”

Moreno’s bill came in response to the growing number of Americans who possess “dual citizenship,” something that was exceedingly rare before the 1970s and remained uncommon until the last two or three decades. The bill’s intentions are clearly stated in three points: 

“To preserve the integrity of national citizenship, allegiance to the United States must be undivided.”

“Existing law allows certain United States citizens to maintain foreign citizenship, which may create conflicts of interest and divided loyalties.”

“It is in the national interest of the United States to ensure the United States citizenship is held exclusively.”

At five years old, Senator Moreno immigrated to the U.S. from Columbia with his family and became a U.S. citizen at 18. “Being an American citizen is an honor and a privilege—and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing,” Moreno said in a statement after the introduction of his bill. “It’s time to end dual citizenship for good.”