“Costly Citizenship? Dual Nationality Institutions, Naturalization, and Political Connectedness.” (with Damarys Canche and Robert Jackson)

Previous work on dual nationality finds that first-generation dual nationals are less connected to the American political system than are first-generation single nationals. Among Latinos at least, dual nationals are less likely than single nationals to identify as Americans, speak English fluently, view the United States as their true home, and register to vote and vote. In this study, we ask whether the dual nationality rules of sender states encourage naturalization in the United States, either directly or conditionally. We also ask whether the disconnecting effects of dual nationality attenuate across generations. Using data from The Pew Hispanic Center/Kaiser Family Foundation 2002 National Survey of Latinos, we find little evidence that dual nationality encourages naturalization, either directly or conditionally; however, we do find evidence that generation attenuates the disconnecting effects of dual nationality. This research suggests that while dual nationality likely disconnects immigrants from the American political system, the effect is largely restricted to the first generation.