L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS d e s c e n d a n t s a b r o a d , a n d announced its intention to work through the American Parliamentary Friendship Group in the Italian Parlia- ment to seek amendments to the decree before it is defini- tively voted into law. T h e O r d e r S o n s a n d D a u g h t e r s o f I t a l y i n America (OSDIA) similar- ly voiced strong opposition. In their detailed communica- tions, they explained that the measure, if left unchallenged by Italy's courts or parlia- ment, would permanently a l t e r h o w c i t i z e n s h i p i s granted to people with Ital- ian ancestry, as in the future only the children and grand- c h i l d r e n o f I t a l i a n s b o r n abroad would automatically qualify for citizenship. Great- grandchildren and further descendants would no longer b e e l i g i b l e , a l t h o u g h t h e decree would not affect those who had already obtained dual citizenship or had initi- ated their applications before the March 27 cut-off date (the date the decree came into being). OSDIA noted t h a t t h e c o n s u l a t e s h a d immediately stopped pro- cessing new applications and discontinued taking citizen- ship appointments. However, Italian-Amer- icans are not letting this go: nearly 100,000 people h a v e a l r e a d y s i g n e d a n online petition opposing the s w e e p i n g c h a n g e s , w h i l e legal experts consulted by O S D I A r a i s e d c o n c e r n s a b o u t t h e l e g a l i t y o f t h e emergency decree mecha- n i s m u s e d , a r g u i n g t h a t emergency decrees should o n l y b e i s s u e d f o r u r g e n t m a t t e r s , a n d q u e s t i o n i n g whether such urgency truly existed. Critics suggest that the Court of Cassation could p o t e n t i a l l y o v e r t u r n t h e m e a s u r e , a n d e v e n i f t h e courts uphold it, Italy's Par- liament must still formally approve or modify the law within 60 days, offering a slim window for debate and revision. Some members of the governing coalition itself have expressed unease, indi- cating that pressure from affected families might still influence the final outcome. While the US government has remained neutral on the policy change, the Italian Embassy in Washington, D C i s s u e d a n i m p o r t a n t advisory: in an urgent notice published on its official web- site, diplomatic officials con- firmed that, following the approval of Decree-Law No. 3 6 , a l l c i t i z e n s h i p b y d e s c e n t a p p l i c a t i o n s have been temporarily s u s p e n d e d . I t w a s e x p l a i n e d t h a t p e n d i n g i n s t r u c t i o n s f r o m R o m e would determine the proce- d u r e s g o i n g f o r w a r d a n d that consular appointments related to citizenship claims w e r e o n h o l d . W h i l e t h e notice refrained from com- menting on the merits of the n e w l a w , t h e s u s p e n s i o n itself created uncertainty and frustration among those who had already started the lengthy process of collecting documentation and prepar- ing their applications. This abrupt halt came at a time of growing interest in Italian citizenship abroad, particularly among Ameri- cans with Italian heritage. If it is true that exact figures are difficult to confirm, it is evident that there has been a notable rise in interest in I t a l i a n d u a l c i t i z e n s h i p among Americans of Italian descent. A 2025 report by Al Jazeera stated that applica- t i o n s f o r c i t i z e n s h i p b y d e s c e n t f r o m t h e U n i t e d States increased by 500% s i n c e 2 0 2 3 , w i t h a r o u n d 80% of applicants seek- ing Italian citizenship. S i m i l a r l y , a 2 0 2 2 F o r b e s a r t i c l e e s t i m a t e d t h a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y 4 0 % o f Americans could be eligible for a second European pass- port through ancestry; con- sidering that 16.8 million Americans identified as hav- ing Italian ancestry in the 2020 US Census (the fourth- largest European ancestry group in the United States, according to the US Census B u r e a u ' s 2 0 2 2 A m e r i c a n Community Survey), it is plausible that millions have considered or actively pur- sued dual citizenship over t h e p a s t t w o d e c a d e s . I n d e e d , t h e d e m o g r a p h i c weight of the Italian-Ameri- can community underlines the broader cultural impact of the reform, as a genera- tional breakdown shows that m a n y I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n s today are third-, fourth-, or e v e n f i f t h - g e n e r a t i o n descendants, and these are p r e c i s e l y t h e i n d i v i d u a l s most affected by the tighten- ing of citizenship criteria, given that their ties to Italy, while still culturally mean- ingful, may no longer satisfy the new legal thresholds. A n o t h e r d i m e n s i o n t o consider is the economic and cultural impact on Italy itself. In recent years, the country has made a con- certed effort to encourage r o o t s t o u r i s m , inviting descendants of emigrants to visit the hometowns of their ancestors, so much so that last year, 2024, was declared the official "Year of Italian Roots." Estimates suggest that the initiative generated significant economic bene- fits, with potential revenues reaching up to €141 billion (approximately $153.7 bil- lion) when accounting for both direct spending and the broader economic impact through the tourism multi- plier effect. Formal recogni- tion of many visitors through citizenship strengthened this connection and transformed a simple visit into a deeper r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h I t a l i a n society and culture for many. Limiting access to citizen- ship could therefore have unintended consequences f o r t o u r i s m a n d c u l t u r a l diplomacy efforts. T h e r e f o r m a l s o r a i s e s broader questions about the nature of national iden- tity in the modern world: in a n a g e o f g l o b a l i z a t i o n , transnational identities, and dual allegiances, many coun- tries have struggled to find the balance between main- t a i n i n g c i t i z e n s h i p a s a m e a n i n g f u l s t a t u s a n d adapting to the realities of migration and diaspora com- munities. Italy's decision s e e m s t o r e f l e c t a s h i f t towards a more restrictive and administratively sus- tainable model, but it also comes with risks: by nar- rowing the path to citi- z e n s h i p , t h e c o u n t r y might weaken the emo- t i o n a l b o n d s t h a t m i l - lions of descendants still feel toward their ances- tral homeland. For many Italian-Ameri- cans and other descendants worldwide, the change rep- resents a closure — a nar- rowing of a bridge that con- n e c t e d t h e m , h o w e v e r symbolically, to the country that shaped their family sto- ries. While the Italian gov- e r n m e n t h a s f r a m e d t h e reform as a matter of admin- istrative necessity and the d e f e n s e o f c i t i z e n s h i p ' s v a l u e , f o r i n d i v i d u a l s abroad, it feels more like the loss of an opportunity to offi- cially affirm a part of their identity. By narrowing the path to citizenship by descent, Italy's new laws may weaken the emotio- nal bonds that millions of descendants still feel toward their ancestral homeland CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 To Italian-Americans, getting a double citizenship is more than obtaining a European passport for traveling (Image cre- ated with DALL-E 2)

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