HeyYou Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Well, it seems that Mitt Romney is having fundraising dinners (at 25-50K per plate.....) in Israel.... ostensibly, the donors are 'dual-citizenship' americans, so technically legal.. He also seems to have done the same thing in London..... My question becomes, is this ethical? Or, is this over the line of suspect campaigning behavior? My Take: Ok, dual citizenship.... born in Israel, living in Israel, business in Israel, with some interests in the US..... looks to me like folks using an exploit to influence american elections in their favor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisnpuppy Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 It is my understanding....and I may be wrong as I don't have a link. But to have dual citizenship in the U.S. you have to have been born in the U.S. If you become a citizen you have to give up your citizenship to other countries. However many countries still extend dual citizenship to Americans with a parent of other countries. Example: My friend Matt married a French woman. She is not a naturalized citizen and their children born here have citizenship both in the US and France. Just want to say that...:P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyYou Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 It is my understanding....and I may be wrong as I don't have a link. But to have dual citizenship in the U.S. you have to have been born in the U.S. If you become a citizen you have to give up your citizenship to other countries. However many countries still extend dual citizenship to Americans with a parent of other countries. Example: My friend Matt married a French woman. She is not a naturalized citizen and their children born here have citizenship both in the US and France. Just want to say that...:P Quite honestly, I don't know exactly how it works...... Off to do some research! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyYou Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 Apparently, when you become a naturalized US citizen, part of the oath is to renounce your previous citizenship, however, not all countries will accept that. For some, you have to go and speak directly to the consulate of your former country, and even then, they might not accept it. Israel has some strange laws as well...... so, dual citizenship isn't just possible, it's actually quite common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRampage Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 not all countries will accept that. For some, you have to go and speak directly to the consulate of your former country, and even then, they might not accept it.Correct. Those with, for example, Turkish or Moroccan passport will find it's nigh impossible to get rid of your citizenship for those countries. so, dual citizenship isn't just possible, it's actually quite common.It's actually fairly common out here in Europe to have dual or even triple passports too. Especially for those living close to the borders of other countries. That said, I don't see what the big deal about fund-raising in foreign countries is all about. Especially since decisions made in the white house often don't just impact the US itself, but a large portion of the rest of the world too. And I think we all know how much Israel gets influenced by the white house. (though that does seems to have diminished somewhat in recent years) I'm actually also rather curious just how much fund-raising in some foreign country can impact US elections. Besides, are those dual citizens even going to vote at all? Or do they just support Romney financially?If they just support him financially then I don't see what could be wrong about that.If they're going to vote: Just how many potential voters are we talking about? I can't see him convincing hundreds of thousand of potential voters to go vote for him. The effect would be negligible I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisnpuppy Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Apparently, when you become a naturalized US citizen, part of the oath is to renounce your previous citizenship, however, not all countries will accept that. For some, you have to go and speak directly to the consulate of your former country, and even then, they might not accept it. Israel has some strange laws as well...... so, dual citizenship isn't just possible, it's actually quite common. I stand partially corrected then. Thank you for delving into that one for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghogiel Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 I have no idea about Israel's way of claiming citizens that aren't born there, but US laws do allow dual citizenship if you are basically born in the situation where two countries are claiming you as theirs. Baring being born into the situation, it also depends on which way you are approaching citizenship, naturalising yourself to be an American or to that of another country. If you start off American, you can't swear an oath to another country without in effect renouncing the other. This question has come up enough in my life that I eventually tracked down some of it that was relevant. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1481 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannywils Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 @Black Rampage said:"That said, I don't see what the big deal about fund-raising in foreign countries is all about. Especially since decisions made in the white house often don't just impact the US itself, but a large portion of the rest of the world too. And I think we all know how much Israel gets influenced by the white house. (though that does seems to have diminished somewhat in recent years)" Personally, I think that it is a pretty big deal, if the funds being raised are coming from foreign nationals. If they are Americans living overseas, fine. However, how does one establish whether quid pro quo is involved (such as we suspect with our large pacs)? If they are foreign nationals,where do we draw the line? Are Israelis ok? Well, how about Palestinians? How about the Iranian Revolutianary Guard or the Russian Federation?? What about Saudis or the Japanese? Are all big oil producing countries ok, or only the ones with whom the American government is currently on good terms, etc., etc., It just seems to me that other citizens and their money need to stay out of our elections and we need to stay out of theirs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csgators Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 They are both doing it. I would hope they have to prove the money is coming from actual US citizens. If memory serves they only have to do so if the amount of money is over a certain amount since there was rampant speculation in the last election that much of the record number of micro donations Obama got were coming from overseas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRampage Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Personally, I think that it is a pretty big deal, if the funds being raised are coming from foreign nationals. If they are Americans living overseas, fine. Yeah, I suppose I should have been clearer on that...I would have no objections against funds being raised from people oversees, as long as they have a US citizenship. If not, then it indeed does becomes a pretty big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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