Public office in the United States carries the authority to make law, allocate resources, and direct the coercive power of the state. That authority belongs exclusively to citizens. Allowing non-citizens to hold positions of governmental power severs the fundamental link between the governed and those who govern.
Citizenship is the legal and political commitment to the Constitution and the long-term fate of the country. Non-citizens, by definition, retain primary allegiance elsewhere. Placing them in roles that shape domestic policy, immigration enforcement, or national security creates an obvious conflict of interest and dilutes the accountability that elections are supposed to enforce.
A coherent nation restricts the right to hold office to those who fully belong to the political community. The requirement is not hostility. It is the minimum condition for self-government. Any system that treats citizenship as optional for positions of power has already begun to erode the distinction that makes a country more than a temporary administrative zone.
