WARREN, C. J., dissenting. 356 U.S. an election of nationality by taking advantage of his Canadian citizenship and voting "as a Canadian." 34 And even the situation that bothered Committee Chairman Dickstein-Americans voting in the Saar plebiscite might under some circumstances disclose conduct tantamount to dividing allegiance. Congressman Dickstein expressed his concern as follows: 35 "I know we have had a lot of Nazis, so-called American citizens, go to Europe who have voted in the Saar for the annexation of territory to Germany, and Germany says that they have the right to participate and to vote, and yet they are American citizens." There might well be circumstances where an American shown to have voted at the behest of a foreign government to advance its territorial interests would compromise his native allegiance. The fatal defect in the statute before us is that its application is not limited to those situations that may rationally be said to constitute an abandonment of citizenship. In specifying that any act of voting in a foreign political election results in loss of citizenship, Congress has employed a classification so broad that it encompasses conduct that fails to show a voluntary abandonment of American citizenship.36 "The connection between the fact proved and that presumed is not sufficient." Manley v. Georgia, 279 U. S. 1, 7; see also Tot v. United States, 319 U. S. 463; Bailey v. Alabama, 219 U. S. 219. The 34 Hearings, at 98. 35 Id., at 286-287. 36 The broad sweep of the statute was specifically called to the attention of the committee by Mr. Henry F. Butler. Hearings, at 286287. Mr. Butler also submitted a brief, suggesting that the coverage of the statute be limited to those voting "in a manner in which only nationals of such foreign state or territory are eligible to vote or participate." Id., at 387. 44 WARREN, C. J., dissenting. reach of this statute is best indicated by a decision of a former attorney general, holding that an American citizen lost her citizenship under Section 401 (e) by voting in an election in a Canadian town on the issue of whether beer and wine should be sold.37 Voting in a foreign election may be a most equivocal act, giving rise to no implication that allegiance has been compromised. Nothing could demonstrate this better than the political history of this country. It was not until 1928 that a presidential election was held in this country in which no alien was eligible to vote.38. Earlier in our history at least 22 States had extended the franchise to aliens. It cannot be seriously contended that this Nation understood the vote of each alien who previously took advantage of this privilege to be an act of allegiance to this country, jeopardizing the alien's native citizenship. How then can we attach such significance to any vote of a United States citizen in a foreign election? It is also significant that of 84 nations whose nationality laws have been compiled by the United Nations, only this country specifically designates foreign voting as an expatriating act.3 39 My conclusions are as follows. The Government is without power to take citizenship away from a nativeborn or lawfully naturalized American. The Fourteenth 37 In the Matter of F 2 I. & N. Dec. 427. 38 Aylsworth, The Passing of Alien Suffrage, 25 Am. Pol. Sci. Rev. 114. 39 Laws Concerning Nationality, U. N. Doc. No. ST/LEG/SER. B/4 (1954). The statutes of Andorra (191 sq. mi.; 5,231 pop.) provide for loss of nationality for a citizen who "exercises political rights in another country," id., at 10, and this very likely includes voting. Of course, it should be noted that two nations, Romania and Russia, have statutes providing that upon decree of the government citizenship can be withdrawn, apparently for any reason. Id., at 396, 463. WARREN, C. J., dissenting. 356 U.S. Amendment recognizes that this priceless right is immune from the exercise of governmental powers. If the Government determines that certain conduct by United States citizens should be prohibited because of anticipated injurious consequences to the conduct of foreign affairs or to some other legitimate governmental interest, it may within the limits of the Constitution proscribe such activity and assess appropriate punishment. But every exercise of governmental power must find its source in the Constitution. The power to denationalize is not within the letter or the spirit of the powers with which our Government was endowed. The citizen may elect to renounce his citizenship, and under some circumstances he may be found to have abandoned his status by voluntarily performing acts that compromise his undivided allegiance to his country. The mere act of voting in a foreign election, however, without regard to the circumstances attending the participation, is not sufficient to show a voluntary abandonment of citizenship. The record in this case does not disclose any of the circumstances under which this petitioner voted. We know only the bare fact that he cast a ballot. The basic right of American citizenship has been too dearly won to be so lightly lost. I fully recognize that only the most compelling considerations should lead to the invalidation of congressional action, and where legislative judgments are involved, this Court should not intervene. But the Court also has its duties, none of which demands more diligent performance than that of protecting the fundamental rights of individuals. That duty is imperative when the citizenship of an American is at stake-that status, which alone, assures him the full enjoyment of the precious rights conferred by our Constitution. As I see my duty in this case, I must dissent. 44 DOUGLAS, J., dissenting. MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS, with whom MR. JUSTICE BLACK concurs, dissenting. While I join the opinion of THE CHIEF JUSTICE, I wish to add a word. The philosophy of the opinion that sustains this statute is foreign to our constitutional system. It gives supremacy to the Legislature in a way that is incompatible with the scheme of our written Constitution. A decision such as this could be expected in England where there is no written constitution, and where the House of Commons has the final say. But with all deference, this philosophy has no place here. By proclaiming it we forsake much of our constitutional heritage and move closer to the British scheme. That may be better than ours or it may be worse. Certainly it is not ours. We deal here with the right of citizenship created by the Constitution. Section 1, cl. 1, of the Fourteenth Amendment states "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." As stated by the Court in the historic decision United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U. S. 649, 702, "Citizenship by naturalization can only be acquired by naturalization under the authority and in the forms. of law. But citizenship by birth is established by the mere fact of birth under the circumstances defined in the Constitution." What the Constitution grants the Constitution can take away. But there is not a word in that document that covers expatriation. The numerous legislative powers granted by Art. I, § 8, do not mention it. I do not know of any legislative power large enough and powerful enough to modify or wipe out rights granted or created by § 1, cl. 1, of the Fourteenth Amendment. Our decisions have never held that expatriation can be imposed. To the contrary, they have assumed that DOUGLAS, J., dissenting. 356 U.S. expatriation was a voluntary relinquishment of loyalty to one country and attachment to another. Justice Paterson spoke of expatriation in Talbot v. Janson, 3 Dall. 133, 153, as "a departure with intention to leave this country, and settle in another." The loss of citizenship in this country without its acquisition in another country was to him the creation of "a citizen of the world"-a concept that is "a creature of the imagination, and far too refined for any republic of ancient or modern times." Ibid. So far as I can find, we have, prior to this day, never sustained the loss of a native-born American citizenship unless another citizenship was voluntarily acquired. That was true both in Mackenzie v. Hare, 239 U. S. 299, and Savorgnan v. United States, 338 U. S. 491. We should look to their facts, not to loose statements unnecessary for the decisions. In the Mackenzie case it was the marriage of a native-born woman to an alien that caused the loss of one nationality and the acquisition of another. In the Savorgnan case the native-born American citizen became naturalized in Italy. In this case Perez did vote in a foreign election of some kind. But as THE CHIEF JUSTICE has clearly shown, § 401 (e) of the Nationality Act of 1940 "is not limited to those situations that may rationally be said to constitute an abandonment of citizenship." Ante, p. 76. Our landmark decision on expatriation is Perkins v. Elg, 307 U. S. 325, where Chief Justice Hughes wrote for the Court. The emphasis of that opinion is that "Expatriation is the voluntary renunciation or abandonment of nationality and allegiance." Id., at 334. Today's decision breaks with that tradition. It allows Congress to brand an ambiguous act as a "voluntary renunciation" of citizenship when there is no requirement and no finding that the citizen transferred his loyalty from this country to another. This power is found in the |