http://people.mags.net/tonchen/birthers.htm
7. What was the original purpose of the presidential “natural born citizen” requirement?
The presidential natural born citizenship requirement originated with John Jay, who recommended it in a letter to George Washington. The letter said:
Permit me to hint whether it would not be wise and seasonable to provide a strong check to the admission of foreigners into the administration of our national government ; and to declare expressly that the command in chief of the American army shall not be given to, nor devolve on any but a natural born citizen. (John Jay letter to George Washington, 25 July 1787)
John Jay believed, and the Founding Fathers agreed, that anyone who is subject to foreign influence should be barred from the presidency. St. George Tucker (1752-1827) explained why:
That provision in the constitution which requires that the president shall be a native-born citizen (unless he were a citizen of the United States when the constitution was adopted) is a happy means of security against foreign influence, which, wherever it is capable of being exerted, is to be dreaded more than the plague. The admission of foreigners into our councils, consequently, cannot be too much guarded against... To have added a [foreign] member to this sacred family in America, would have invited and perpetuated among us all the evils of Pandora’s Box. (St. George Tucker, as quoted in Defining Natural-Born Citizen)
The Founding Fathers undoubtedly understood that natural born citizenship is acquired only at birth. Thus the presidential natural born citizenship provision was limited in scope. It could not protect the presidency from all possible forms of foreign intrusion. It could not exclude, from the presidency, people who had developed foreign sympathies or allegiances after their birth. At most, it could only bar, from the presidency, persons who were subject to foreign influence at birth — specifically, persons who were foreign citizens at birth or were, at birth, subject to the laws of a foreign country.
When the Constitution was written, there were only two ways that a child could acquire foreign citizenship at birth or fall under foreign legal jurisdiction at birth:
by being born in a foreign country; or
by being born of parents who were citizens of a foreign country.
At the time, the United States did not recognize dual citizenship. No one could become a U.S. citizen without completely renouncing all foreign allegiance.
Therefore, in 1787, if you were born in the United States and your parents were U.S. citizens at the time of your birth, you were, without doubt, completely free of foreign influence at birth — you were, without doubt, not a foreign citizen at birth and not subject to foreign legal jurisdiction at birth. On the other hand, if you were born outside of the United States or your parents were not U.S. citizens when you were born, you might have been, at birth, subject to foreign legal jurisdiction to some extent.
Thus the Founding Fathers undoubtedly understood that, in order for the presidential natural born citizen provision to be effective, the term “natural born citizen” had to mean “U.S.-born of U.S.-citizen parents”. Otherwise, the provision would not work in all cases. It would occasionally allow, into the Office of President, individuals who were foreign citizens at birth or subject to foreign legal jurisdiction at birth — the very kind of situation that the Founding Fathers had undoubtedly hoped to prevent, given their abhorrence of foreign influence in general.
8. What is the difference between a “Constitutional” and a “statutory” natural born citizen?
“Constitutional natural born citizen” refers to the term “natural born citizen” when it appears in the Constitution or in a Constitution-related document such as a Supreme Court decision. It refers to the meaning of “natural born citizen” in the Constitution, whatever the Supreme Court ultimately decides such meaning to be.
“Statutory natural born citizen” refers to someone who is deemed a “natural born citizen” as a result of a Federal or State law.
Currently, there is no Federal law that explicitly defines “natural born citizen” or explicitly conveys “natural born citizenship” to anyone. However, existing laws are sometimes understood or interpreted as conveying natural born citizenship to certain individuals at birth. At this point, we do not pass judgment on these understandings and interpretations. We merely say that, if someone is deemed to be a “natural born citizen” pursuant to a law or statute, we refer to such person as a “statutory natural born citizen”.
A statutory natural born citizen is not necessarily the same thing as a Constitutional natural born citizen. The U.S. State Department warns against confusing the two concepts:
...the fact that someone is a natural born citizen pursuant to a statute does not necessarily imply that he or she is such a citizen for Constitutional purposes (Top of page 9, in U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual — 7 FAM 1130)
If we were to define “natural born citizen” to mean anyone who is a “citizen at birth”, our definition of “natural born citizen” would be statutory because it would depend on the statute or law which defines “citizen at birth”. Under existing law, all children born in the United States (except the children of foreign diplomats) are “citizens at birth”. Therefore, under existing law, almost all children born in the U.S. — including children of illegal immigrants — could be regarded as statutory natural born citizens.
However, H.R.1940, also known as the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2007, would change the existing law so that it would no longer grant “citizenship at birth” to children of illegal immigrants. If Congress were to pass H.R.1940, it would alter the meaning of “citizen at birth”, and therefore would alter our statutory definition of natural born citizen. If H.R.1940 were enacted, the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants could no longer be regarded as statutory natural born citizens.
To summarize:
“Statutory natural born citizen” is the meaning of “natural born citizen” when such meaning depends on a Federal or State law. As Federal and State laws change, the meaning of “statutory natural born citizen” changes accordingly.
“Constitutional natural born citizen” is the meaning of “natural born citizen” as used in the Constitution.
If Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, he could be regarded as a statutory natural born citizen. But a statutory natural born citizen is not necessarily a Constitutional natural born citizen.
No one could become a U.S. citizen without completely renouncing all foreign allegiance.
The same is true today for naturalized citizens. However, U.S. law does not supercede foreign laws any more than foreign laws superced our own. If a person born in the U.S. also qualifies at birth for citizenship in another country then there is nothing U.S. law can do to prevent that. But nothing in the law or the Constitution prevents natural-born citizenship status in this case.
And where does the Constitution define that?
We merely say that, if someone is deemed to be a “natural born citizen” pursuant to a law or statute, we refer to such person as a “statutory natural born citizen”.
You can refer to them however you like. Nothing supports your definition. Not the law. Not the Constitution. Not Supreme Court decisions.
However, H.R.1940, also known as the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2007, would change the existing law so that it would no longer grant “citizenship at birth” to children of illegal immigrants.
Except that they haven't passed the law. Nor would such a law strip those already born of their natural-born status. While the Constitution does not define natural-born citizen, it does rule out ex-post facto laws.
If Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, he could be regarded as a statutory natural born citizen. But a statutory natural born citizen is not necessarily a Constitutional natural born citizen.
Actually it is.