Carnegie Mellon
Policy & Law Review

Abstract Citizenship has long balanced civic duties with legal rights, raising a fundamental question: is it an earned status that remains conditional, or a permanent constitutional membership? U.S. naturalization law conditions entry into the political community on requirements like allegiance to the Constitution, civic commitment, and “good moral character,” treating citizenship as something to be earned. The constitutional tradition, on the other hand, transforms it into a permanent status, converting admission into secure and equal membership once granted. Recent debates over denaturalization and birthright citizenship expose the tension between conditional admission and permanent membership. Introduction Historically, the meaning of citizenship…