This week, the parliamentary commission on defense and internal affairs decided to put an end to the saga of the possible expulsion of 'disloyal' residents from the country.
Let us remind you: it all started with a public initiative prepared back in 2022! Some patriotically inclined activists came up with the fixed idea of stripping 'disloyal' citizens of their Latvian citizenship and expelling them from the country. This 'democratic' initiative managed to gather the minimum required number of signatures — 10,000 — over three years, and thus the proposal was submitted to the Saeima.
Despite its absurdity and provocativeness, the initiative was not immediately thrown into the trash — at the suggestion of the Saeima's commission on mandates, ethics, and statements, it was sent by the parliament to the relevant commission — on defense and internal affairs — for further assessment.
No sensational events occurred during the commission meeting — both representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and intelligence services repeated arguments that had already been voiced earlier. Namely, international law and European standards do not allow for the deprivation of citizenship for those who do not have another citizenship. In such cases, these individuals become stateless.
Moreover, it is not possible to expel a citizen or permanent resident (non-citizen) from the country — this again contradicts both Latvia's international obligations and its Constitution.
As a result of the discussion, the majority of deputies voted not to promote this initiative further, effectively burying it. The commission does not currently plan to come up with any new ideas in the Citizenship Law regarding the deprivation of Latvian citizenship 'for disloyalty.'
