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Non-citizens who enter the USA without playing mother-may-I with the nanny state do have a status - the status of being violators of a misdemeanor equivalent to parking illegally in a handicapped space. It is a paperwork violation.

Tancredo’s HR4437 would have made it a felony and failed in the Senate ... and both presidents would have vetoed it anyway.

Of course, prior to the 1920s there was no such thing as an illegal immigrant. Anyone who entered the USA was presumed innocent of immigration laws that prohibited undesireables but did not require the game of mother-may-I with the nanny state.

Dual citizenship is a totally different topic as by definition, it requires legality. Dual citizenship comes in two forms:
- A person born in X has 1 or both parents who are citizens of Y. That person has until the age of 21 (it varies by country) to choose in which country to claim citizenship. After making that claim, he no longer had dual citizenship.

- A person qualifies for citizenship in two or more countries, even after being an adult. American-Israelis are often alleged to have this dual citizenship. But it happens with many nationalities. Countries have laws that only a citizen can own real estate, or news media outlets, or some other type of property. And low and behold a citizen of the USA is also a citizen of Austalia or some other country.

- Sloppy/ambiguous situations allow for dual citizenship. My mom’s side of the family crossed back and forth accross the border. They aren’t even sure in which country some were born. It’s confusing. They’ve never had a problem using privileges such as voting that were reserved for citizens. Eventually one country or the other was accepted as their country in a defacto manner.