AFROYIM v RUSK

Facts of the Case:

After immigrating to the United States from Poland in 1912, Beys Afroyim became a naturalized American citizen in
1926. In 1950, Afroyim went to Israel where he voted in that country's 1951 governmental elections. In 1960, Afroyim
applied for renewal a of his American passport. The State Department informed him that he had forfeited his
American citizenship by virtue of Section 401(e) of the 1940 Nationality Act which stipulates that citizens of the United
States shall "lose" their citizenship upon voting in a foreign state's political elections. Afroyim challenged the
constitutionality of Section 401(e). On appeal from a district court's summary judgment favoring Secretary of State
Dean Rusk, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court granted Afroyim certiorari.
Question:
Does Section 401(e) of the 1940 Nationality Act, revoking U.S. citizenship to persons who vote in other countries'
elections, violate either the Fifth Amendment right to Due Process or the Fourteenth Amendment, under which
naturalized citizens are granted national citizenship?
Conclusion:
Yes. In a 5-to-4 decision, overruling Perez v. Brownell (356 US 44), the Court held that Congress has no general
power to revoke American citizenship without consent. Noting the special bond between Americans and their
government, a bond that protects every citizen against all manner of destruction of their rights, the Court held that
only citizens themselves may voluntarily relinquish their citizenship. This sacred principle applies equally to natural
and naturalized citizens. As such, Section 401(e) violated both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.