Donofrio Ignorant of Citizenship Laws

Leo Donofrio, of Donofrio v Wells fame, posted an essay this morning presenting his case regarding how Obama’s father’s Kenyan citizenship precludes all else in determining Obama’s natural born status.

He goes through the background of all the presidents born since the adoption of the Constitution who had parents of foreign origin, making a historical argument that none of these provide precedent for Obama’s status because their parents had become citizens by the time of their future-president child entered the world.

I have no idea if Donofrio’s historical research is accurate, and really don’t care–what’s important is that his understanding of our citizenship laws are way off base.

According to Donofrio’s understanding of Constitutional law, to be considered a “natural born” American citizen, someone has to be born on American soil to two parents who were citizens at the time of their baby’s birth.  But that’s not even close to the truth.

The framers of the Constitution deliberately formulated it as the most basic skeletal framework of laws, so that the specifics could be fleshed out and updated over time. Article 2 Section 1 specifies that “No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President,” but did not define the terms of “natural born.”

Donofrio defines it to mean a child has to be born on US soil to two American citizen parents, but does not explain how he came to that ludicrous conclusion. If he checked the US Code adopted to legally define the exact terms required for a child to have US citizenship at birth, he wouldn’t have wasted so much time trying to find historical precedents in the biographies of past Presidents.

So I would heartily recommend Leo Donofrio extract his head from his ass and read the full text of Title 8, Section 1401 of the US Code pasted below before he trouble himself about this matter any further.

Section 1401. Nationals and citizens of United States at birth

      The following shall be nationals and citizens of the United    States at birth:        (a) a person born in the United States, and subject to the      jurisdiction thereof;        (b) a person born in the United States to a member of an      Indian, Eskimo, Aleutian, or other aboriginal tribe: Provided,      That the granting of citizenship under this subsection shall not      in any manner impair or otherwise affect the right of such person      to tribal or other property;        (c) a person born outside of the United States and its outlying      possessions of parents both of whom are citizens of the United      States and one of whom has had a residence in the United States      or one of its outlying possessions, prior to the birth of such      person;        (d) a person born outside of the United States and its outlying      possessions of parents one of whom is a citizen of the United      States who has been physically present in the United States or      one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one      year prior to the birth of such person, and the other of whom is      a national, but not a citizen of the United States;        (e) a person born in an outlying possession of the United      States of parents one of whom is a citizen of the United States      who has been physically present in the United States or one of      its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year at      any time prior to the birth of such person;        (f) a person of unknown parentage found in the United States      while under the age of five years, until shown, prior to his      attaining the age of twenty-one years, not to have been born in      the United States;        (g) a person born outside the geographical limits of the United      States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an      alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to      the birth of such person, was physically present in the United      States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods      totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were      after attaining the age of fourteen years: Provided, That any      periods of honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United      States, or periods of employment with the United States      Government or with an international organization as that term is      defined in section 288 of title 22 by such citizen parent, or any      periods during which such citizen parent is physically present      abroad as the dependent unmarried son or daughter and a member of      the household of a person (A) honorably serving with the Armed      Forces of the United States, or (B) employed by the United States      Government or an international organization as defined in section      288 of title 22, may be included in order to satisfy the      physical-presence requirement of this paragraph. This proviso      shall be applicable to persons born on or after December 24,      1952, to the same extent as if it had become effective in its      present form on that date; and        (h) a person born before noon (Eastern Standard Time) May 24,      1934, outside the limits and jurisdiction of the United States of      an alien father and a mother who is a citizen of the United      States who, prior to the birth of such person, had resided in the      United States.