Dual citizenship?

In an earlier post, I linked to this article, which referred to one University of Alabama student as a "dual citizen of the United States and Mexico." One commenter remarked that "There is not supposed to dual citizenship involving the US..., although it happens."

Now, I've always thought the same thing, based on the fact that when an immigrant becomes a naturalized citizen of the United States, he is required to take the following oath:

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

However, things aren't always as they seem. As dual citizen and National Review contributor John Derbyshire pointed out back in 2002, "renounce" and "abjure" don't mean much anymore. Any guesses as to whose fault that is? If you said: "The United States Supreme Court," give yourself a gold star. As Derb explains:

...the great change in U.S. government attitudes towards dual citizenship occurred in 1967, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case Afroyim v. Rusk. Mr. Afroyim, a naturalized U.S. citizen, had moved to Israel in 1950. When, in 1960, he tried to renew his U.S. passport, the state department refused, on the grounds that Mr. Afroyim had voted in an Israeli election. Afroyim sued, and eventually won.

In Afroyim v. Rusk the Supreme Court asserted, in effect, that citizenship is a constitutional right, coming under the scope of the 14th Amendment. From then on, the government effectively lost the power to strip you of your citizenship without your consent. To stop being a U.S. citizen you have to take deliberate steps, prove your intent, and formally renounce your citizenship.

For more reading on dual citizenship and how our neighbor to the south is using it to infringe on U.S. sovereignty, see these pieces by The Hudson Institute's John Fonte: here and here. Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor at the George Washington University School of Law, also wrote on the topic here.