“Jus soli” renders the jurisdiction phrase superfluous and redundant because the preceding phrase, “in the United States,” identifies the geography. Being subject to U.S. laws applies to citizens and aliens. “Subject to the jurisdiction thereof” is concerned with one’s political allegiance to the United States and no other, as Howard and Trumball said.
I agree with all that.
But it does not matter.
At some point, a court case will come before the US Supreme Court and nine people will look at the legal language, and weigh all the precedent and then they will make an arbitrary decision that makes them feel good about themselves.
Until that happens, it’s all idle speculation which cannot achieve a darn thing.
The best part of all of this is that it is now FRONT AND CENTER as a National issue.
And it is not just blowing away the timid, but outing the traitors: Baby Bush spends his whole campaign bloviating for illegal aliens and their non-existent right to call their children Americans, as if they had the right to make that designation.
We won’t even talk about the Rats. We KNOW where their loyalties lie without asking.
Lotta people here say “well, Iraq and Iran are real issues, this is just peripheral”.
Nonsense. It is the central issue: Who is an American?
And who will rule us? The children of Mexico, or eventually our children?
clearly the framers did not have this definition of natural born citizen in mind when they added that requirement as it offers no protection whatsoever.