US citizenship law and political climate

Further to our discussions recently regarding registering your children as US citizens and travelling only on US passports to the US:

I noted today over on Rich Wales' dual citizenship FAQ website the following bill Congressman Hayworth of Arizona (Republican) introduced this year ... pretty scary stuff. See below.

Just because something is introduced in Congress doesn't mean that it is going anywhere, but it is an indication of something, I suppose.

I will also take this opportunity to lobby all of my UK Yankee friends to vote for Democrats in the 2006 elections! ((Sorry, I couldn't resist that one).

H.R. 3938 (Hayworth, R-AZ, 29 September 2005) proposes several amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act:

US-born children whose parents are not US citizens or permanent residents would be considered not subject to US jurisdiction, and thus not US citizens (similarly to the proposals in the two bills already mentioned above).

Naturalized US citizens who did any of several actions in connection with his/her previous country of citizenship (such as voting in a foreign election, using a foreign passport, or serving in a foreign army) would be declared to have violated the renunciatory clause in the naturalization oath and would be subject to criminal penalties -- a fine of $10,000 and/or a year in prison.

The State Department would be ordered to discard its 1990 policy on dual nationality and return to its previous policy "of viewing dual/multiple citizenship as problematic and as something to be discouraged, not encouraged."

The State Department would be instructed to notify each newly naturalized citizen's "old country" that the US rejects any further claim by that country on the person's allegiance.

US-born children whose parents are not US citizens or permanent residents would be considered not subject to US jurisdiction, and thus not US citizens (similarly to the proposals in the two bills already mentioned above).

It would take a Constitutional Amendment to put this in to practice. Anyone born in the US is a citizen, according to the Constitution. The Immigration and Nationality Act, or any other act for that matter, cannot override that.

This is really scary stuff.

I thought I would always consider myself to be an American but if things go down this path and I have to choose then I could very well end up choosing the Brit. citizenship.

It would take a Constitutional Amendment to put this in to practice. Anyone born in the US is a citizen, according to the Constitution. The Immigration and Nationality Act, or any other act for that matter, cannot override that.

I think you're right, sweetpeach, and that shows you the calibre of some of our elected representatives. Did I hear anyone say "pander", perhaps?

H.R. 3938 (Hayworth, R-AZ, 29 September 2005) proposes several amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act:

US-born children whose parents are not US citizens or permanent residents would be considered not subject to US jurisdiction, and thus not US citizens (similarly to the proposals in the two bills already mentioned above).

Naturalized US citizens who did any of several actions in connection with his/her previous country of citizenship (such as voting in a foreign election, using a foreign passport, or serving in a foreign army) would be declared to have violated the renunciatory clause in the naturalization oath and would be subject to criminal penalties -- a fine of $10,000 and/or a year in prison.

The State Department would be ordered to discard its 1990 policy on dual nationality and return to its previous policy "of viewing dual/multiple citizenship as problematic and as something to be discouraged, not encouraged."

The State Department would be instructed to notify each newly naturalized citizen's "old country" that the US rejects any further claim by that country on the person's allegiance.

Sounds to me like a bit of political grandstanding. This bill doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of passing as it is blatantly unconstitutional! It's just Hayworth's way of pushing the "illegal alien" buttons in this country.