Thanks for this post.
No one on earth in any age will question that a child born on the soil of a country of parents who are citizens of that country, is a citizen of that country as well.
“No one on earth in any age will question that a child born on the soil of a country of parents who are citizens of that country, is a citizen of that country as well.”
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And this concept was captured by the Supreme Court in Minor v Happersett.
“..it was never doubted that all children born in a country of parents who were its citizens became themselves, upon their birth, citizens also. These were natives, or natural-born citizens...”
And back to that pesky document called the Constitution:
Here is what power it gives Congress when it comes to citizenship:
“The Congress shall have Power .... To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;”
Any law by Congress dealing with citizenship qualification must a ‘naturalization law’. Because that is the only power granted to Congress concerning citizenship in the Constitution.
If you are not natural, then you are naturalized since NATURALIZATION laws is all Congress is empowered to do.
And naturalization does not require anything but - a law.
No process, no forms...
Look at the citizens of Peurto Rico. They are US citizens at birth. No process, no forms, no paperwork. They are collectively naturalized - via a law. Their Puerto Rico birth certificate is all they need for paperwork.
Law of Congress = Naturalized status (and thus not natural born).
The 14th Amendment does actually create a new path to citizenship. It is not a ‘naturalization’ law since it did not originate with Congress. It is a Constitutional article that grants citizenship. But it never attempts to modify or change what ‘natural born’ means, implies or how it is used in Article II, Section 1.