"If you want to be an American, it's all or nothing": bill aims to end dual citizenship

Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) introduced a bill to end dual citizenship. It is the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025, which would require citizens to swear an "exclusive allegiance" to the United States. In practice, it would force any U.S. citizen with foreign citizenship to choose between the two citizenships.

Under current law, Americans can hold dual citizenship and are not required to choose one of them. In this context, the Ohio Republican's bill is presented as a measure that would strengthen U.S. interests in the face of concerns about "conflicts of interest and divided loyalties."

"One of the greatest honors of my life was when I became an American citizen at 18, the first opportunity I could do so. It was an honor to pledge an Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America and ONLY to the United States of America!" Senator Moreno said in a statement.

"Being an American citizen is an honor and a privilege—and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing. It’s time to end dual citizenship for good," added the Colombian-born senator, who became a U.S. citizen at age 18.

As for enforcement of the legislation, it would require the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create databases to track and enforce the change in citizenship law.

In addition, upon enactment of the bill, Americans with dual citizenship would haveone year to notify authorities of their chosen citizenship. If a person fails to comply with the change within the year, he or she would automatically be deemed to have renounced his or her U.S. citizenship.

What would happen if a U.S. citizen chooses the citizenship of the other country? According to the text of the bill, both DHS and the Department of Justice would be required to ensure that these individuals are "appropriately recorded in Federal systems and treated as an alien for purposes of the immigration laws."

In turn, should a U.S. citizen apply for foreign citizenship in the future, the bill would require them to renounce their U.S. citizenship.

Moreno, who came to the Senate in January 2025 after defeating Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown, spoke to VOZ on September 5 about the situation of Venezuela's dictator, Nicolás Maduro. On that occasion, he predicted that he would end up leaving the country "dead or alive."

"They have a prize, $50 million. That is more than what is offered by any terrorist in the world. The military has to know what is good for the people. They have to have pride in their own country. This man is not good for Venezuela. He is not good for the Americas," he added.