Loss of Citizenship and Civil Rights for Conviction of Crime

Abstract

An erroneous impression appears to exist among certain people in the United States that if a person is convicted of a crime by a court of competent jurisdiction, he immediately and automatically loses his citizenship. It is apparently believed that when a citizen is convicted of a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude in either a state or national court, the person is no longer a citizen, and can never enjoy any of the rights or privileges of American citizenship for the rest of his natural life. A search of standard textbooks on American government will disclose that if the matter of the loss of citizenship or of civil rights for the conviction of crime is discussed at all, the author or authors will dismiss the topic by making the statement that citizens of the United States do not lose their citizenship for the conviction of crime; and the authors usually add that this fact is contrary to popular impression.The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution defines citizenship by stating that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the state in which they reside. The procedure required for a person to become a citizen by naturalization is one for Congress to determine by law, and Congress has passed legislation governing it. On the other hand, the Constitution does not contain a statement providing for the loss of citizenship or expatriation in any form, whether by voluntary or involuntary act on the part of the citizen.