christinahust asked this question on 3/23/2000:

should the US be able to take the second citicenship away from people who commit a crime? sould we be able to kick these people out of the country and not allow them to have the priviledges of an american citizen?

eyeseeu gave this response on 3/27/2000:

Much would depend on how this person became a dual citizen. It is not as rare as some of the other answers would have you believe and it is not illegal. There are 2 ways to gain dual citizenship.

1.) Natural born US Citizen becomes a citizen of another country. If this happens you do not have to give up your US Citizenship. In fact as a natural born US citizen you must denounce and revoke your citizenship intentionally or you will remain a US Citizen.

2.) a naturalized US Citizen maintains the citizenship of their native born country. In this case if a felony is committed the person could be deported, but often the other country will not allow the person to return because they are a criminal, a catch 22.

Deporting someone for criminal activity is not that easy. The country that the person will be sent to must agree to receive that person. That applies whether they are a US Citizen or not. There are hundreds(or more) people in custody awaiting deportation who have entered the country illegally and their native country does not want them back. Dual citizenship people are evn less likely to be deported.

It also depends on the type of crime that was committed. Having traveled on Official passport for years it was important for us to know all of these legalities. Many times people can be falsely accused in foreign countries for not bribing the right person. If you have questions specific to a particular case, please post a follow up question.

What countries does the person hold dual citizenship? What was the crime? Were they a natural born US citizen or naturalized?

The average rating for this answer is 5.

christinahust rated this answer a 5.