Two lawmakers are asking the Justice Department to let soon-to-be-released spy Jonathan Pollard renounce his U.S. citizenship so he can join his wife in Israel.

Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Eliot Engel, both New York Democrats, have written to Attorney General Loretta Lynch asking that Mr. Pollard, who is due to be released Friday after serving 30 years in prison, be allowed to move to Israel.

Mr. Pollard was a civilian analyst for the Navy when he was arrested in 1985 on charges of spying for Israel and later sentenced to life in prison. Over an 18-month period, officials say he removed large volumes of classified documents from government files and gave them to his Israeli handler.

The Bureau of Prisons is freeing him after a parole commission determination earlier this year he should be released early from his life sentence.

In their letter to the attorney general, the two lawmakers said Mr. Pollard “understands that, as a condition of being permitted to move to Israel, he may need to renounce his American citizenship.” They added: “Despite the serious consequences that may follow such a decision, including being permanently barred from returning to the United States, he is willing to undertake this extraordinary measure.’’