Unmaking Citizens: The Expansion of Citizenship Revocation in Response to Terrorism by David J. Trimbach and Nicole Reiz January 2018 1 Introduction “They hold us in contempt. They hold our values in contempt. They hold our belief in tolerance and decency in contempt. They hold our democracy, the means by which we will make our decision tonight, in contempt. And what we know about fascists is that they need to be defeated.” – Hilary Benn, UK Shadow Foreign Secretary In December 2014, the British House of Commons voted to intervene militarily with targeted airstrikes in Syria,1 and the United Kingdom (UK) embarked on a new phase in addressing the expansion and role of the Islamic State (ISIS). Hilary Benn, the UK’s Shadow Foreign Secretary2 made a speech highlighting the threat ISIS poses to the UK and liberal democracy. Yet, the UK and other democratic states have increasingly engaged in policy actions at home that threaten liberal democratic ideals, including expanded citizenship revocation. Citizenship revocation or deprivation refers to all legal arrangements for the involuntary loss of citizenship or nationality.3 International law guarantees states the right to determine nationality/citizenship, providing a basis for inclusion and exclusion.4 Conversely, due to the rise of statelessness during the twentieth century, international legal agreements and norms have shifted in an attempt to reduce statelessness and promote human rights. While this may be the case, the largely liberal and broad international legal environment has produced wide variations in citizenship revocation policies.5 According to the Constitute Project, 130 state constitutions include legal language that outlines citizenship revocation.6 Many states include a legal chapter, article, act, or clause that outlines particular actions that may warrant citizenship revocation and illuminates the state powers that authorize this act. Additionally, some constitutions include legal clauses, chapters, articles, or acts that outline a state’s inability or lack of authority to revoke citizenship. While not all states have constitutional provisions related to Nicholas Watt, “Hilary Benn makes emotional plea for Britain to bomb Isis ‘fascists’ in Syria,” The Guardian, December 2, 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/02/william-hague-breaks-with-cameron-over-use-of-ground-forces-in-syria. 2 In British politics, the opposition party or the party not in power has a shadow cabinet. Within the shadow cabinet, there are numerous positions such as Shadow Foreign Secretary or Shadow Secretary of State for Defence. In practice, these individuals are appointed to question and challenge the views and politics of their counterparts in the Cabinet. 3 Rainer Bauböck and Vesco Paskalev, “Citizenship Deprivation A Normative Analysis,” CEPS Papers in Liberty and Security in Europe, March 2015, https://www.ceps.eu/system/files/LSE82_CitizenshipDeprivation.pdf. 4 Kay Hailbronner, “Nationality in public international law and european law,” in Acquisition and loss of nationality: Policies and trends in 15 European States ed. Rainer Bauböck, (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2006). 5 Craig Forcese, “A Tale of Two Citizenships: Citizenship Revocation for ‘Traitors and Terrorists,’” Queen’s Law Journal 39, no. 2 (2014): 551-70. 6 The Constitute Project is an innovative online archive of the world’s constitutions. The citizenship revocation articles, chapters, or references for all constitutions can be found here: https://www.constituteproject.org/search?lang=en&key=citrev. 1 Center for Migration Studies of New York | 1