The Campaign to Create Second-Class Citizens
GOP lawmakers are pushing to restrict the rights of naturalized and dual citizens—including their ability to run for office.
Carlos Alemán, a U.S. citizen who served on Homewood, Alabama's city council, expressed dismay at recent efforts to limit naturalized citizens from holding public office. For decades, becoming a citizen in the U.S. was synonymous with unrestricted civic participation, but now Republican lawmakers are pushing to restrict naturalized citizens from running for various elected positions, including sheriff and governor.
This movement gained prominence after the rise of progressive foreign-born politicians like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. In Alabama, Secretary of State Wes Allen invoked Mamdani's mayoral run as a reason to restrict naturalized citizens from serving in elected positions. Trump's June defeat at the Supreme Court over birthright citizenship has also fueled the push, as Trump has vowed to pursue alternative routes through Congress.
The narrative shift in the Republican Party's stance on naturalized citizens can be seen in President Trump's recent social media posts, which criticize the melting pot concept and question the loyalty of naturalized Americans. Although the Constitution does not require natural-born citizenship for all government positions, some Republicans are now attempting to change that.
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