ABSTRACT
This chapter examines U.S. naturalization laws, which governs the process through which a noncitizen becomes a U.S. citizen, and specifically analyzes the last step of the naturalization process—the taking of an oath that requires lawful permanent residents to renounce their allegiance to their former home countries and declare their sole loyalty to the United States as a condition of becoming U.S. citizens. Situating the loyalty oath against the history of naturalization laws that sought to exclude people of color, women and poor people, among other groups, from acquiring citizenship, this chapter contends that requiring the taking of the loyalty oath as a condition for acquiring citizenship illustrates naturalization law’s distrust of the stranger and perpetuates the exclusionary nature of citizenship and membership. The fact that U.S. citizens are allowed to have dual allegiances further calls into question the necessity of requiring lawful permanent residents to have sole allegiance to the United States. Notably, the chapter employs the theology of hospitality to question ongoing necessity for the loyalty oath and calls for naturalization law to be more welcoming and hospitable towards soon-to-be citizens, even if they have dual or multiple allegiances.
