John Fonte, a Senior Fellow of the conservative Hudson Institute, raised the issue of dual allegiance in dual citizenship.

He argued in “Dual Allegiance is Inconsistent with American Democracy” that American citizenship demands complete and unswerving allegiance to America.

He wrote, “in today’s interconnected post-9/11 world of mass immigration, world-wide terrorism and transnational loyalties, it is more important than ever to insist that new (and native-born) citizens are politically loyal to the United States and only the United States. It is precisely because we want to continue to benefit from legal immigration in the new circumstances of the 21st century that we must be serious about national allegiance.”

“American dual allegiance citizens involved in foreign politics do not always spread tolerant democratic values. Indeed, sometimes the opposite is the case. Diaspora activists, isolated from the reality of daily experience, are often dogmatic ideologists. Supporters of the IRA, ethnic Balkan nationalists, Meir Kahane, hard-line Latin American exiles of the right and left, Muslim and Hindu extremists–who have either attained, or were born with, American citizenship–come to mind.”

“the fact that Britain and Canada are democracies (and close allies) does not alter the moral principle or practical consequences involved. America is a different nation than Britain or Canada. Our constitution, interests, principles, and culture, while similar to that of Britain, Canada, and other democracies, are neither identical nor interchangeable. American citizens should be loyal to the American constitution, not simply a generic form of democracy detached from the American nation.”

Fonte recommends legislation that would subject to legal sanctions “specific acts such as voting in foreign elections and serving in foreign governments.”

“These foreign interests and commitments—of objective practical necessity, as well as moral obligation–dilute their commitment, attachment and allegiance to the United States. There is a clear distinction between the nominal status of dual citizenship and the active exercise of dual allegiance. Some people are dual citizens for a variety of reasons (e.g., one parent is American, the other is not). The status of dual citizenship per se is not necessarily a problem. However, dual allegiance, in the sense of the active exercise of loyalty and allegiance to a foreign state, is inimical to American democracy.”

He quoted an opinion from US Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter:

“Taking an active part in the political affairs of a foreign state by voting in a political election involves a political attachment and practical allegiance thereto which is inconsistent with continued allegiance to the United States…these actions reveal, not only, something less than complete and unswerving allegiance to the United States, but also elements of an allegiance to another country in some measure, at least inconsistent with American citizenship.”

Is dual allegiance a legitimate issue? How does it affect Fil-Ams?

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