Should members of Congress be allowed to hold dual citizenship?

[emperus]

I am a naturalized citizen. During the world cup, the US played my home country. I was a little confused as to whom to root for. Of course I was a US citizen but at the same time still had a passport for my country of birth. It got me to thinking and I decided I had to cheer the US. It was the country I had to have allegiance for. I was actually sad.

Anyhow, It got me to thinking of Congress and esp. Congresspeople from Israel. How is it that we allow Congresspeople to hold dual citizenships to other countries. Isn't a dual citizenship in essence saying that my single concern isn't the well being of the US?

Thoughts?

 

[Ichigo]

Holy shit you're transparent.

 

[yllus]

Not being able to have a passport in another country's name doesn't mean you can't still make a mess of one country and escape elsewhere. Nor does it mean that your allegiance will not be split. Seems like it would be just one more useless law.

 

[Genx87]

I am trying to figure out exactly how you think holding a dual citizenship will be detrimental to the people who elected them?

What I find interesting is people's view that immigrants will fuck up this nation. Wrong, it will be the 2nd and 3rd generation Americans who will fuck this nation up. Holding a dual citizenship as a congress person does not stop them from doing their job. The people spoke, they elected them didnt they?

 

[emperus]

Holy shit you're transparent.

Transparent how?

 

[emperus]

I am trying to figure out exactly how you think holding a dual citizenship will be detrimental to the people who elected them?

What I find interesting is people's view that immigrants will fuck up this nation. Wrong, it will be the 2nd and 3rd generation Americans who will fuck this nation up. Holding a dual citizenship as a congress person does not stop them from doing their job. The people spoke, they elected them didnt they?

I gave an example of sports. When you are rooting for two sports teams that meet, who do you root for? I guess my question is when ish hits the fan, where does you allegiance lie if you are a citizen of multiple countries.

Isn't that why the founders argued that to be a US president you have to be a natural born citizen? To make sure that your allegiance lies supinely to the US?

 

[techs]

Are you saying Romney has a dual citizenship with the planet Kolob?

 

[EagleKeeper]

I am more interested in whom you think is holding dual citizenship and how you became a naturalized on and still hold citizenship in another country.

 

[ichy]

how you became a naturalized on and still hold citizenship in another country.

My mother is originally Swiss. She's now a naturalized citizen but still has her Swiss citizenship as well. You don't automatically lose previous citizenships.

 

[dawp]

nvm

 

[EagleKeeper]

My mother is originally Swiss. She's now a naturalized citizen but still has her Swiss citizenship as well. You don't automatically lose previous citizenships.

Apparently the rules have changed. :thumbsdown:

Dual citizenship wa only allowed if you were born as such.

One becomes a US citizen via naturalization; one should be revoking the original citizenship.

 

[SandEagle]

I am trying to figure out exactly how you think holding a dual citizenship will be detrimental to the people who elected them?

What I find interesting is people's view that immigrants will fuck up this nation. Wrong, it will be the 2nd and 3rd generation Americans who will fuck this nation up. Holding a dual citizenship as a congress person does not stop them from doing their job. The people spoke, they elected them didnt they?

would you be ok with 20 palestinian-american or libyan-american people in congress?

 

[nehalem256]

One could see it as an extension of the Title of Nobility Clause.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_of_Nobility_Clause

The Framers' intentions for this clause were twofold: to prevent a society of nobility from being established in the United States, and to protect the republican forms of government from being influenced by other governments. In Federalist No. 22, Alexander Hamilton stated, "One of the weak sides of republics, among their numerous advantages, is that they afford too easy an inlet to foreign corruption." Therefore, to counter this "foreign corruption" the delegates at the Constitutional Convention worded the clause in such a way as to act as a catch-all for any attempts by foreign governments to influence state or municipal policies through gifts or titles.

 

[ichy]

Apparently the rules have changed. :thumbsdown:

Dual citizenship wa only allowed if you were born as such.

One becomes a US citizen via naturalization; one should be revoking the original citizenship.

The naturalization process does require you to "renounce all foreign allegiances" however it has never required people to actually give up their original citizenship. The US is relatively tolerant of dual citizenship under most circumstances.

 

[emperus]

I feel like this is an issue that not a lot of people talk about. Here is an article I just found.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/04/us/dual-nationals/index.html

Reading some of the comments bothered me.

 

[cybrsage]

I gave an example of sports. When you are rooting for two sports teams that meet, who do you root for?

The team you like the best. You can live in Philadelphia and root for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In other words, you are allowed to think for yourself and you do not need to have blind allegiance to any one sports team.

 

[emperus]

The team you like the best. You can live in Philadelphia and root for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In other words, you are allowed to think for yourself and you do not need to have blind allegiance to any one sports team.

It was an analogy. But are you arguing that you believe our representatives in congress when they have an option to do what is in the interest of the US or the interest of the other country that they are a citizen of, they should not have blind allegiance to the US?

 

[Genx87]

I gave an example of sports. When you are rooting for two sports teams that meet, who do you root for? I guess my question is when ish hits the fan, where does you allegiance lie if you are a citizen of multiple countries.

Isn't that why the founders argued that to be a US president you have to be a natural born citizen? To make sure that your allegiance lies supinely to the US?

Do you really believe people with dual citizenship would side with the other during a time of war? That is awfully paranoid of you to think that.

 

[cybrsage]

It was an analogy. But are you arguing that you believe our representatives in congress when they have an option to do what is in the interest of the US or the interest of the other country that they are a citizen of, they should not have blind allegiance to the US?

I believe politicians will not purposefully do things that will ensure they are not reelected. If there is one thing we can trust our politicians to do, it is that.

 

[cybrsage]

Do you really believe people with dual citizenship would side with the other during a time of war? That is awfully paranoid of you to think that.

The Democratic Party has a precedent for doing that already, so he has a point. During the US Civil War, northern Democrats in Congress publically called for troops in the northern army to defect to the south...of course, depending on how you look at it the south was or was not another country...

 

[Genx87]

The Democratic Party has a precedent for doing that already, so he has a point. During the US Civil War, northern Democrats in Congress publically called for troops in the northern army to defect to the south...of course, depending on how you look at it the south was or was not another country...

That is great. Anything more recent than 150 years ago?

 

[Fern]

Do you really believe people with dual citizenship would side with the other during a time of war? That is awfully paranoid of you to think that.

I think dual citizenship could certainly cloud the judgement of Congresspersons who are charged with the Constitutional responsibility of deciding if we should go to war.

If their dual citizenship arises naturally from them being born in a foreign country I don't have much problem with it (outside of the above concern). But I do have a problem if they seek out dual citizenship.

Fern

 

[Juror No. 8]

I believe politicians will not purposefully do things that will ensure they are not reelected. If there is one thing we can trust our politicians to do, it is that.

What is this belief based on? Anything at all?

Politicians who don't get reelected nowadays get big money jobs on the public speaking circuit and working for big corporations and NGOs. In other words, they can make just as much, if not more, money outside of government than they can inside of government.

Why should should trust that politicians have any allegiance to the American people over money and power?

 

[DominionSeraph]

What is this belief based on? Anything at all?

Politicians who don't get reelected nowadays get big money jobs on the public speaking circuit and working for big corporations and NGOs. In other words, they can make just as much, if not more, money outside of government than they can inside of government.

Why should should trust that politicians have any allegiance to the American people over money and power?

Why do you believe that politicians exist?
Dude, I'm kinda scared for you here. If you're seeing people who aren't really there, you should probably seek professional help.

 

[JEDIYoda]

The Democratic Party has a precedent for doing that already, so he has a point. During the US Civil War, northern Democrats in Congress publically called for troops in the northern army to defect to the south...of course, depending on how you look at it the south was or was not another country...

wow are you a real useless person......the civil war....hahahahaaaa....what part of the word Civil do you not get Mork???