On The Front Lines
John W. Whitehead, Along with the Members of Liberty and Security Committee, Voices Concerns Over Terrorist Expatriation Act
WASHINGTON -- John W. Whitehead, in conjunction with fellow members of the bipartisan Constitution Project's Liberty and Security Committee, has released a statement pointing out serious constitutional concerns with the Terrorist Expatriation Act of 2010, which was introduced by Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Scott Brown (R-MA). The proposed legislation would authorize the government to revoke the citizenship of anyone found to have provided "material support" to foreign terrorist organizations or engaged in, or purposefully or materially supported hostilities against the United States or against other nations directly supporting U.S. armed forces.
In urging Congress to reject the proposed legislation, the 29 members of the committee joining the Statement Opposing the Terrorist Expatriation Act point out that citizenship is a fundamental constitutional right that cannot be taken away unless it was unlawfully obtained or voluntarily renounced. The Statement Opposing the Terrorist Expatriation Act is available here.
"This proposed legislation allowing the government to strip Americans of their citizenry undermines the very foundation of the U.S. Constitution," said Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "This is one more step toward an authoritarian regime that will undermine all civil liberties."
The Statement Opposing the Terrorist Expatriation Act states, in part:
"The Terrorist Expatriation Act raises several serious constitutional concerns. Moreover, there is no need for such a law. Whether they are American citizens or not, terrorism suspects can and should be prosecuted in court to the full extent of the law. Congress should reject such expatriation proposals as being both unnecessary and dangerous; unnecessary because existing laws already provide more than adequate penalties for U.S. citizens who engage in acts of terrorism; dangerous because such proposals would forever dilute one of our most fundamental constitutional rights."
The Constitution Project's Liberty and Security Committee is made up of policy experts who represent the full political spectrum, including former members of Congress, former government, intelligence and military officials, academics and advocates. These members came together to express their concerns that Congress cannot and should not seek to strip protected constitutional rights. In addition, members point out that by incorporating existing laws on material support for terrorism, the bill also incorporates the constitutional flaws plaguing those laws. In particular, the material support statutes raise serious due process and First Amendment concerns.
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