A bill introduced by Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno would require many Americans with dual citizenship to choose between their U.S. nationality and another. The Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 is framed by its supporters as enforcing exclusive loyalty to the United States, while critics warn it would create a tiered system of citizenship and face serious constitutional challenges.
On December 1, 2025, Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican from Ohio, introduced the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 in the U.S. Senate, according to his office and multiple news reports.
The legislation targets U.S. citizens who also hold another nationality, generally requiring them to choose between retaining their American citizenship or the other. Under the bill, existing dual nationals would have one year after the law takes effect to renounce their foreign citizenship or relinquish U.S. citizenship; failure to do either would result in the person being treated as having voluntarily given up U.S. nationality under Section 349(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, according to summaries from Moreno’s office and legal analyses.
Moreno, who was born in Colombia and became a naturalized U.S. citizen at age 18, has said that being American should involve exclusive allegiance. In a statement released by his office and quoted widely in regional and national outlets, he said: “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! 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.”
The bill is part of a broader Republican push to tighten the terms of citizenship and eligibility in public life. In recent months, Republicans in Congress have advanced measures such as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, and some GOP lawmakers and allied groups have renewed calls to narrow birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment—though those efforts have not changed current law and would likely face constitutional challenges.
Legal experts note that Moreno’s proposal would collide with long-standing Supreme Court precedent. In cases such as Afroyim v. Rusk and Vance v. Terrazas, the Court held that Congress cannot strip citizenship without a citizen’s voluntary and intentional renunciation. Because the Exclusive Citizenship Act would deem people to have relinquished U.S. citizenship if they fail to act within a set period, analysts say it is likely to be tested in court if it advances.
Critics argue the measure would, in practice, create tiers of citizenship by forcing millions of dual nationals to choose between their legal rights and family, cultural or economic ties abroad. Advocacy organizations such as Voto Latino have condemned the bill as an attack on American multiculturalism, saying it would force Americans to choose between their citizenship and their identities. Some scholars also warn that tying citizenship more closely to exclusive national allegiance echoes approaches seen in more authoritarian systems.
Supporters of the bill, including Moreno and some conservative commentators, counter that it is intended to ensure “sole and exclusive allegiance” to the United States and to avoid potential conflicts of interest involving dual nationals. The legislation would direct the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to create procedures to verify exclusive citizenship status and update federal records.
Birthright citizenship—rooted in the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause and reaffirmed by Supreme Court precedent—remains a central feature of U.S. law. While hard‑line immigration critics continue to press for changes through legislation or executive action, any effort to curtail it, like Moreno’s proposal to end dual citizenship, would face steep legal and political hurdles. For now, the Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 stands as a symbolic marker of intensifying debates over loyalty, identity and what constitutes full American citizenship.
