One would agree with your view that Harris is not a Natural Born Citizen however you’re missing two major items, one The Naturalization Act of 1790 & Congressional Resolution 511, the former explicitly states that the children of US citizens shall be considered Natural Born Citizens, while this act was repealed five years later likely because the founders wanted the length of time to be longer for one to qualify to become a citizen it nonetheless provides insight into the thinking of the founders as to what the term meant.
Secondly, is Congressional Resolution 511, in 2008 when concerns about John McCain's eligibility rose to prominence Congress move forward with Resolution 511 declaring that John McCain was a natural born citizen, the basis for this declaration was that McCain‘s parents were American citizens. That resolution was accompanied with legal opinions from two constitutional scholars in support of Resolution 511, one was a former US solicitor general the second was a law professor, those legal opinions were entered into the congressional record.
The courts have repeatedly affirmed that Congress is the prevailing authority for declaring what citizenship is and with Resolution 511 Congress declared natural born citizens are the children of US citizens. One can’t have it both ways, either the citizenship of one’s parents is material or it’s not, Congress seems to be of belief that it is material so much so that they took the time and effort to compose a formal congressional resolution. Natural Born Citizenship isn’t a sliding scale, it’s to be applied universally.
Many mistakenly insist the phrase subject to the jurisdiction thereof in the 14th amendment only applies to the children of diplomats this is completely incorrect. When the 14th amendment was passed, Native Americans were excluded from the 14th amendment because they’re subject to tribal jurisdiction. The vast majority of Native Americans are not diplomats so Native Americans who they and their parents were born on US soil were excluded from citizenship because they were subject to another jurisdiction.
There’s also the question of whether Kamala Harris should’ve been conferred US citizenship in the first place. If Harris was conferred the citizenship of her parents automatically at birth that would seemingly put her at odds with a plain text of both The Civil Rights Act of 1866 & The 14th Amendment. The former explicitly states that those who are subject to a foreign power are not eligible for US citizenship. if Harris automatically acquired Jamaican or Indian citizenship through her parents at birth, she would not be eligible for she would be subject to Jamaica’s and India’s jurisdiction, that’s indisputable because the US government has rules for dual citizens that explicitly states that dual citizens are required to owe allegiance to and are subject to the jurisdiction to all countries to which they hold citizenship. Not only would It put her at odds with a plain text of The Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the 14th amendment it would also put her at odds with the founder's intent for the presidency. It is without question the founders would not have permitted an individual who is required to owe allegiance to and is subject to the jurisdiction of a foreign country to be President, in fact that seems to be the very thing the founders were most concerned about in the presidency if one reads John Jay's letter to George Washington.
Natural Born Citizenship is about allegiance to the United States, the founders wanted natural born citizens to have 100% complete allegiance to the United States, that can only be achieved when both parents are US citizens. The founders knew that such citizens would take time to produce that's why they inserted the language or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President The big question that needs to be addressed is whether Harris holds or has ever held foreign citizenship, curiously no one in the media has bothered to ask her this question.
One wishes you well in your legal endeavor, such a judgement by the high court would have monumental constitutional implications. SCOTUS might loathe to rule on this because if they rule her not to be a Natural Born Citizen it would evoke a constitutional crisis.
How would Congress even deal with the aftermath? All the tie breaking votes she cast would become void. It would truly be uncharted territory, best of luck!
Thanks for the perceptive legal analysis. When and if a court ever allows me to address the substantive questions rather than throwing up procedural roadblocks, I will be sure to include this in my brief.
Once she took the oath, she was validated as VP. Her votes as Senate President were valid.
Please note that the constitution is the supreme law of the land, not common law. There is no provision in the constitution to void actions taken by officers. The only remedy for her non-qualification is impeachment and conviction which does not affect her actions in office.
The constitution reigns supreme however I'm not sure how that would work were one to be found ineligible for office, certainly those votes that were cast that became legal legislation could be contested in court.
A person found in violation of them could say to the court that person was found ineligible and the law itself isn't valid.
The 1866 debates on citizenship confirm that anyone born in the United States is a citizen, as long as both of their parents are citizens at the time of birth.
Alexander Hamilton...not sure the court has ever heard of him, said ⬇️. Now replace Britain with Jamaica and India.
In the first draft of the US Constitution submitted by Alexander Hamilton, a person was merely required to be born a Citizen in order to be eligible for the Presidency. However, in August, 1787, the Constitutional Convention changed the requirement from "born a Citizen" to "natural born citizen". The purpose for the change was to exclude foreigners from the Presidency. For example, a British man and woman can have a child born in the United States. That child would be born a Citizen of the United States and also a Subject of Britain.
AT minimum Harris has dual citizenship, and a president cannot have dual citizenship.
One would agree with your view that Harris is not a Natural Born Citizen however you’re missing two major items, one The Naturalization Act of 1790 & Congressional Resolution 511, the former explicitly states that the children of US citizens shall be considered Natural Born Citizens, while this act was repealed five years later likely because the founders wanted the length of time to be longer for one to qualify to become a citizen it nonetheless provides insight into the thinking of the founders as to what the term meant.
Secondly, is Congressional Resolution 511, in 2008 when concerns about John McCain's eligibility rose to prominence Congress move forward with Resolution 511 declaring that John McCain was a natural born citizen, the basis for this declaration was that McCain‘s parents were American citizens. That resolution was accompanied with legal opinions from two constitutional scholars in support of Resolution 511, one was a former US solicitor general the second was a law professor, those legal opinions were entered into the congressional record.
The courts have repeatedly affirmed that Congress is the prevailing authority for declaring what citizenship is and with Resolution 511 Congress declared natural born citizens are the children of US citizens. One can’t have it both ways, either the citizenship of one’s parents is material or it’s not, Congress seems to be of belief that it is material so much so that they took the time and effort to compose a formal congressional resolution. Natural Born Citizenship isn’t a sliding scale, it’s to be applied universally.
Many mistakenly insist the phrase subject to the jurisdiction thereof in the 14th amendment only applies to the children of diplomats this is completely incorrect. When the 14th amendment was passed, Native Americans were excluded from the 14th amendment because they’re subject to tribal jurisdiction. The vast majority of Native Americans are not diplomats so Native Americans who they and their parents were born on US soil were excluded from citizenship because they were subject to another jurisdiction.
There’s also the question of whether Kamala Harris should’ve been conferred US citizenship in the first place. If Harris was conferred the citizenship of her parents automatically at birth that would seemingly put her at odds with a plain text of both The Civil Rights Act of 1866 & The 14th Amendment. The former explicitly states that those who are subject to a foreign power are not eligible for US citizenship. if Harris automatically acquired Jamaican or Indian citizenship through her parents at birth, she would not be eligible for she would be subject to Jamaica’s and India’s jurisdiction, that’s indisputable because the US government has rules for dual citizens that explicitly states that dual citizens are required to owe allegiance to and are subject to the jurisdiction to all countries to which they hold citizenship. Not only would It put her at odds with a plain text of The Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the 14th amendment it would also put her at odds with the founder's intent for the presidency. It is without question the founders would not have permitted an individual who is required to owe allegiance to and is subject to the jurisdiction of a foreign country to be President, in fact that seems to be the very thing the founders were most concerned about in the presidency if one reads John Jay's letter to George Washington.
Natural Born Citizenship is about allegiance to the United States, the founders wanted natural born citizens to have 100% complete allegiance to the United States, that can only be achieved when both parents are US citizens. The founders knew that such citizens would take time to produce that's why they inserted the language or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President The big question that needs to be addressed is whether Harris holds or has ever held foreign citizenship, curiously no one in the media has bothered to ask her this question.
One wishes you well in your legal endeavor, such a judgement by the high court would have monumental constitutional implications. SCOTUS might loathe to rule on this because if they rule her not to be a Natural Born Citizen it would evoke a constitutional crisis.
How would Congress even deal with the aftermath? All the tie breaking votes she cast would become void. It would truly be uncharted territory, best of luck!
Thanks for the perceptive legal analysis. When and if a court ever allows me to address the substantive questions rather than throwing up procedural roadblocks, I will be sure to include this in my brief.
Once she took the oath, she was validated as VP. Her votes as Senate President were valid.
Please note that the constitution is the supreme law of the land, not common law. There is no provision in the constitution to void actions taken by officers. The only remedy for her non-qualification is impeachment and conviction which does not affect her actions in office.
She still isn't eligible to be anything....the Constitution says that she must be natural born citizen.
The constitution reigns supreme however I'm not sure how that would work were one to be found ineligible for office, certainly those votes that were cast that became legal legislation could be contested in court.
A person found in violation of them could say to the court that person was found ineligible and the law itself isn't valid.
PART II
CITIZENSHIP
Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution.
5. At the commencement of this Constitution, every person who has his domicile in the territory of India and—
(a) who was born in the territory of India; or
(b) either of whose parents was born in the territory of India; or
(c) who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less than five years immediately preceding such commencement,
shall be a citizen of India.
The 1866 debates on citizenship confirm that anyone born in the United States is a citizen, as long as both of their parents are citizens at the time of birth.
Alexander Hamilton...not sure the court has ever heard of him, said ⬇️. Now replace Britain with Jamaica and India.
In the first draft of the US Constitution submitted by Alexander Hamilton, a person was merely required to be born a Citizen in order to be eligible for the Presidency. However, in August, 1787, the Constitutional Convention changed the requirement from "born a Citizen" to "natural born citizen". The purpose for the change was to exclude foreigners from the Presidency. For example, a British man and woman can have a child born in the United States. That child would be born a Citizen of the United States and also a Subject of Britain.
AT minimum Harris has dual citizenship, and a president cannot have dual citizenship.
Well said.