“Natural born citizens are naturally citizens because they only have one nationality, that’s what makes them natural born citizens.”
Not quite. It is a “legal” or “constitutional” TERM or more accurately a “STATUS”. However the “spirit” of the law (based on “natural law”) is that the president not have divided loyalties or sympathies to foreign countries.
Simply stated.....
A natural born citizen is someone born “in the country” by TWO citizen parents.
1. “born” This status (NBC) is derived by the circumstances of your birth, AT THE TIME OF YOUR BIRTH. THAT SECOND.
2. “in the country” At this time, to be 100% sure, you would have to have been born in the lower 48 states. Alaska and Hawaii are too recently added to the U.S. (1959). Alaska and Hawaii would have been territories NOT STATES. Different rules apply.
a. Territories and possessions have different laws, rules, status, than “states”. Being born in a U.S. territory or possessions doesn’t even necessarily mean you are a U.S. citizen (even in Puerto Rico it depends on what year you were born), let alone a “natural born” citizen.
b. Embassies (in foreign countries), military bases (in foreign countries), aboard U.S. ships (outside U.S. waters) or planes (not over U.S. territory) have NEVER been U.S. territory. “Citizenship in these cases would be based on the citizenship of the parent(s). “Natural Born status however would NOT apply. NOT born “in the country”.
3. “TWO” The description in “The Law of Nations” says “parentS”, with an “S”, PLURAL, BOTH.
4. “Citizen parents” Since NBC status is determined at the moment of birth, the citizenship of the parents AT THAT TIME is also controlling. Whether native or naturalized, they HAVE TO BE citizens THEN.
Being a “natural born citizen” is a “STATUS” only applying to the eligibility for president (and later, vice president) of the United States.
There are only TWO actual types of U.S. citizenship.
1. Native: born a citizen.
Either by being born “in the country” or by citizen parent(s). Only one required.
2. Naturalized: Being made a citizen by the government. A document granting citizenship.
I spent two years looking into this. It is more than opinion. No, I’m not going to give footnotes, do your own research, it’s all online.
I agree, I was simplifying for the people who think Anwar Al-Awlaki’s kids born in Yemen are natural born citizens eligible to be President.
Their status is no different than Ted Cruz.
Good, we are tired of hearing this B$. Obama is not NBC no matter how much you read. There is accepted practice of granting citizenship to anchor babies but there is certainly no black letter law. If a female citizen drops a baby of a foreign National male the country of the male has citizenship claims on his progeny and you know it.