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‘We Did Everything They Wanted’: The American Families Caught in Italy’s Citizenship Crackdown
The court upheld new rules limiting citizenship eligibility to parents or grandparents, affecting up to 80 million potential claimants worldwide, according to the foreign ministry.
- Italy's Constitutional Court rejected constitutional challenges earlier this week to citizenship-by-descent rules, upholding restrictions imposed last year. The court declared questions of legitimacy regarding the jure sanguinis framework "partially unfounded and partially inadmissible."
- On March 28, 2025, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani introduced an emergency decree to curb rising applications, arguing they went "beyond the true interest" of Italy. The law restricts citizenship to foreign nationals with Italian parents or grandparents only.
- Thousands of Americans, including Kellen Matwick, moved to Italy to pursue citizenship, only to find themselves stranded in legal limbo after the sudden rule change. Many sold homes and possessions, expecting a path allowed for generations.
- With no grace period, families face uncertain immigration status, unable to work or access healthcare while waiting for resolution. Citizenship lawyer Marco Mellone noted the ruling "doesn't mean the new law is 100 percent valid and forever."
- An April 14 hearing at the Corte di Cassazione, Italy's supreme court, offers a potential path for relief as legal challenges continue. Families like the Matwicks are holding out hope until their scheduled court date in January 2027.
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By Julia Buckley, CNN When Kellen Matwick, his wife Jacqueline and her two sons boarded a one-way flight to Italy in August 2024, they toasted for their new life. Matwick, whose great-grandparents emigrated from central Italy to Pennsylvania, is also part of the vast Italian diaspora. He is also one of the millions who saw his hopes frustrated when the Italian government changed its citizenship laws by descent a year ago, on March 28, 2025, a me…
·Idaho Falls, United States
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They moved to Italy to claim their citizenship. Then they were told they were no longer citizens
Italy’s new law restricting citizenship by descent has disappointed millions of the diaspora but has upended the lives of descendants who’d moved to Italy to start new lives.
·Atlanta, United States
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Total News Sources15
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center14Last UpdatedBias Distribution93% Center
Bias Distribution
- 93% of the sources are Center
93% Center
C 93%
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