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Limiting Congressional Denationalization After Afroyim, John Paul Jones

Law Faculty Publications

This Comment discusses the constitutional aspects of loss of United States citizenship. It contrasts expatriation with procedures developed by the state in treaty and statute for involuntary deprivation of citizenship. It distinguishes early judicial and legislative debate over the existence of a citizen's constitutionally guaranteed right to forfeit his citizenship with the twentieth-century controversy surrounding unilateral government action to denationalize. Examining existing statutes in light of recent Supreme Court decisions limiting congressional authority in this area, it suggests an analysis of contemporary statutory presumptions based upon the relationship of proscribed activity and allegiance.