(OHIO) A sweeping plan to reshape how the United States 🇺🇸 decides who is a citizen is emerging in Congress and the White House in 2025, with two linked proposals that could change the status or future rights of millions of people. Together, the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 and the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025, along with a January 2025 executive order from President Trump, target both dual citizens and children born in the country to non‑citizen parents.
Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 — the dual citizenship proposal
At the center of the dual citizenship debate is Bernie Moreno, a Republican senator from Ohio who is backing the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025. The draft proposal would end the long‑standing practice of allowing many Americans to hold more than one nationality.
Key provisions and timelines:
– One year from the date the law takes effect: every U.S. citizen who also holds another country’s passport would have to choose between keeping U.S. citizenship and renouncing the foreign citizenship, or keeping the foreign citizenship and losing U.S. citizenship.
– If a person failed to renounce the foreign citizenship within that one‑year window, the penalty would be automatic: the person would lose U.S. citizenship by law, without an extra hearing or appeal specified in the bill’s text.
Consequences of losing U.S. citizenship:
– Anyone who gives up, or is treated as having given up, U.S. citizenship would then be handled as a non‑citizen under immigration law.
– In practice, they could need a visa to visit the United States and could even face removal if they were in the country without permission.
Other provisions:
– The bill would bar U.S. citizens from applying for another citizenship unless they first renounce their U.S. status.
– The U.S. State Department and the Department of Homeland Security would be tasked with tracking dual citizens. This could involve checking passport records, immigration files, and possibly foreign government data.
– Analysis by VisaVerge.com says this tracking would mark a sharp departure from the current, more relaxed approach to dual nationality.
Who would be affected:
– Americans born in the U.S. to immigrant parents who kept ties to their home country.
– People naturalized in the U.S. who retained their original citizenship.
– U.S. citizens who later gained another passport through ancestry or marriage.
– Families where parents have different nationalities and children hold multiple passports — the forced choice could split family legal identities and limit where families can live or work together.
Practical and legal questions:
– The proposal has not yet been formally introduced as a numbered bill.
– If it advances, committees would likely call constitutional scholars, security officials, and affected citizens to testify.
– A major practical issue: how would the government reliably prove who holds another citizenship, since some countries confer nationality by bloodline without clear records?
Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025 — changing citizenship by birthplace
Running alongside the dual‑citizenship plan is the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025, backed in the Senate by Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) and in the House by Brian Babin (Texas). The bill seeks to change the longstanding rule that most children born on U.S. soil are citizens at birth.
Core change proposed:
– A child born in the United States would be a citizen at birth only if at least one parent is:
– a U.S. citizen or national, or
– a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) living in the U.S., or
– a non‑U.S. national serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.
- Children born to parents who are undocumented, on temporary visas, or otherwise without long‑term status would no longer gain automatic citizenship.
Rationale from supporters:
– They say the change would align citizenship with a defined, ongoing connection to the United States rather than simple place of birth.
– Supporters argue it would reduce “conflicts of interest and divided loyalties,” curb “birth tourism,” and discourage parents from entering the country primarily to give birth.
Protections for existing citizens:
– The sponsors wrote the bill so it would not change the citizenship of anyone born before the law takes effect — intended to avoid stripping citizenship from people who have lived their whole lives as Americans.
Judicial and legislative status:
– The bill mirrors President Trump’s January 2025 executive order titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.”
– Four federal judges had temporarily blocked the executive order by March 2025, and the legal fight is ongoing; it may reach the Supreme Court.
– The legal conflict will likely revolve around interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause, which has long been interpreted to cover most people born in the U.S.
Legislative identifiers:
– The Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025 has been introduced as H.R. 569 in the House and S. 304 in the Senate.
– It is now before each chamber’s Judiciary Committee. Any final law would need to:
1. Clear both committees,
2. Win full votes in the House and Senate, and
3. Be signed by President Trump.
Opposition:
– Opponents say the bill will face instant lawsuits asserting constitutional claims similar to those directed at the executive order.
Political and social context
These measures are part of a broader Republican push in 2025 to tighten immigration and citizenship rules, reflecting President Trump’s campaign promises and the administration’s focus on national security and immigration enforcement.
Claims by supporters:
– Make citizenship a clearer, more exclusive bond to the United States.
– Reduce perceived conflicts of interest and discourage “birth tourism.”
Concerns from critics and advocates:
– Immigrant families and civil rights groups warn of inequities and legal challenges.
– Potential for children born in the U.S. to undocumented or temporary‑status parents to become stateless if they do not qualify for any other citizenship.
– Risk of creating a tiered citizenship system: two children born in the same hospital could have dramatically different legal futures based solely on their parents’ status.
– For dual citizens, the consequences are concrete: forced choices could separate families, affect employment and pensions, and force people to abandon ties or care responsibilities abroad.
– Renunciation of a foreign citizenship can be complex, expensive, and slow, varying by country.
Legal process and next steps
- The Birthright Citizenship Act is actively before Judiciary Committees in both chambers; the Exclusive Citizenship Act has not been formally numbered but is expected to enter debate.
- Legal challenges to executive action and to any eventual law are likely and could reach the Supreme Court, especially over the Fourteenth Amendment.
- Committees considering the Exclusive Citizenship Act would likely request testimony from:
- constitutional scholars,
- security officials,
- affected U.S. citizens and families.
Practical guidance for affected people
Until Congress passes new laws and courts resolve the constitutional issues, existing rules remain in effect.
- For current, authoritative information about citizenship pathways — including citizenship at birth and citizenship through parents — consult the official U.S. government resource:
Key takeaway: The direction of the 2025 debate shows how sharply the country’s approach to citizenship may change soon — affecting dual nationals, children born to non‑citizen parents, and families with transnational ties. The legal and practical consequences could be profound, and the measures will likely trigger immediate constitutional fights.
Two linked 2025 proposals aim to reshape U.S. citizenship: the Exclusive Citizenship Act would require dual nationals to choose one nationality within one year or automatically lose U.S. citizenship; the Birthright Citizenship Act (H.R. 569/S. 304) would limit automatic citizenship at birth to children with at least one U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or U.S. service member parent. Both measures echo a January 2025 executive order, face court challenges, and could trigger Supreme Court review.
