Fact Check: "The Supreme Court ruled in 1967 that denaturalization creates two levels of citizenship."
What We Know
The claim that the Supreme Court ruled in 1967 that denaturalization creates two levels of citizenship is not substantiated by historical legal rulings or scholarly analysis. The most relevant case from that year is Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253 (1967), in which the Supreme Court held that a U.S. citizen could not be stripped of their citizenship involuntarily. The ruling emphasized that citizenship is a fundamental right that cannot be taken away without the citizen's consent. This case effectively reinforced the idea that citizenship is singular and cannot be divided into levels based on denaturalization (source-1).
Analysis
The assertion that denaturalization creates two levels of citizenship implies a distinction between citizens who have been denaturalized and those who retain their citizenship. However, the Afroyim v. Rusk ruling does not support this interpretation. Instead, it affirms that once a person is a citizen, they cannot be denaturalized without their consent, thus maintaining the singular nature of citizenship.
Furthermore, the concept of "two levels of citizenship" is not a recognized legal principle in U.S. law. The Supreme Court's decision in Afroyim has been interpreted by legal scholars and practitioners as a protection against involuntary loss of citizenship, rather than a framework for categorizing citizens into different levels (source-2).
The sources discussing this claim, primarily from legal analyses and historical accounts, do not provide evidence that the Supreme Court established any hierarchy or levels of citizenship in its 1967 ruling. The claim appears to stem from a misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the legal principles established in that case.
Conclusion
Verdict: Unverified
The claim that the Supreme Court ruled in 1967 that denaturalization creates two levels of citizenship is unverified. The ruling in Afroyim v. Rusk does not support the idea of multiple levels of citizenship; rather, it affirms the singular nature of citizenship and protects against involuntary denaturalization. There is no credible legal basis for the assertion that denaturalization creates different levels of citizenship.
