Dual Citizenship Based on Jus Soli: Dealing with the Pseudo-Homegrown Terrorist

Abstract

The concept of jus soli - citizenship through birth in a country - is a method to obtain native citizenship of a second country by being born there. In the context of dealing with terrorist, the home-grown terrorist presents a number of issues that foreign terrorists do not. This concept came to light with the American targeting of Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemen with dual citizenship in the US as a result of his birth there while his father was studying in the U.S. In addition to the general issues regarding the methods used, questions concerning the appropriateness of this method based on his U.S. citizenship have dominated the conversation after his death. This article explores the issues associated with dual citizenship based on jus soli and how this affects terrorist recruitment.