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Tancredo Critical of U.S. Citizens Voting in Mexican Election
Congressional Desk
July 3, 2006

The Oath of Citizenship Ought to Mean Something."

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo (R-Littleton) today criticized participation in the recent Mexican presidential election by U.S. citizens. According to recent news reports, several thousand Americans of Mexican descent may have voted in the weekend election.

"Doesn't anyone take the oath of citizenship seriously anymore?" said Tancredo.

The oath reads, "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen...and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

"In becoming a U.S. citizen, foreigners take an oath explicitly foreswearing allegiance to all other nations. It almost goes without saying that this should preclude voting in a foreign election," said Tancredo.

"Dual citizenship and dual voting undermine the very foundations of community and society and ought to be prohibited," said Tancredo, "This makes no sense at all. The only elections that American citizens ought to be voting in are American elections."

Tancredo expressed similar sentiments last year after The Washington Post reported that American citizens - including second-generation American citizens - were permitted vote in the Iraqi election.

"It's disappointing so many people would choose trivialize their oath of citizenship by voting in a foreign election during the week of Independence Day - the week we celebrate the birth of America," said Tancredo.

"When a foreign national takes the oath of citizenship to become a naturalized citizen of the United States, he immediately acquires equal rights with all native-born citizens of our country. But with equal rights come equal obligations," concluded Tancredo "The oath of citizenship ought to mean something."