how many times has immigration laws changed in the USA?
Immigration laws are constantly changed.
Originally whe had no immigration laws.
then the individual states controlled it.
then it becaume national
then we had quotas
and since then every ten years or so we have had reforms.
through out all that there have been two types of citizens, those who became citizens and born elsewhere and those who were citizens by being born on american soil. That is it.
Instead of focusing on changing the law one more time, this focus on the 2008 election only serves to make a change for iron clad clarity next to impossible.
This is the WRONG question. (on purpose I'm sure, no sarc)
The right question is ....
how many times has “Natural Born Citizen” status, in Clause 5, been changed changed? Constitutional amendment required.
NEVER.
Now, Amendment XII “.... But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.” only ADDS Vice President to Clause 5.
The Constitution is the SUPREME “Law of the Land”. Get used to it.
The original Constitution as signed by the Founders only spoke of two kinds of citizens. There are the ‘natural born citizens’ eligible to be POTUSA and just plain ‘citizens’. Though there have been court decisions and amendments to the Constitution it all boils down to the Constitution specifying only two distinct kinds of citizens. Your classification of citizens doesn’t seem to explain coherency with the Constitutional presentation.