On the Meaning of “Natural Born Citizen”
In response to murmurings about Senator Ted Cruz‘s candidacy for President (Cruz was born in Canada to a U.S. citizen mother), Neal Katyal and Paul Clement in the Harvard Law Review Forum have this to say about the U.S. Constitution’s “natural born Citizen” requirement for the Presidency:
“There are plenty of serious issues to debate in the upcoming presidential election cycle. The less time spent dealing with specious objections to candidate eligibility, the better. Fortunately, the Constitution is refreshingly clear on these eligibility issues. To serve, an individual must be at least thirty-five years old and a “natural born Citizen.” Thirty-four and a half is not enough and, for better or worse, a naturalized citizen cannot serve. But as Congress has recognized since the Founding, a person born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent is generally a U.S. citizen from birth with no need for naturalization. And the phrase “natural born Citizen” in the Constitution encompasses all such citizens from birth. Thus, an individual born to a U.S. citizen parent — whether in California or Canada or the Canal Zone — is a U.S. citizen from birth and is fully eligible to serve as President if the people so choose.”
KJ