General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Birthers want proof that Mitt Romney was born in America! [View all]fishwax
(29,149 posts)The Bellei case involves the first sentence of the 14th amendment, which the court ruled did not apply to Bellei. The sentence in question reads: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." The amendment was designed to protect the citizenship of African Americans and makes no attempt to address the definition of "natural born citizen." It should be clear that saying All A are C ("A are citizens" does not in any way imply that Not A is not C ("not A are not citizens" much less that "Not A are Not X" ("not A are not natural born citizens" . The Bellei case doesn't address the definition of natural born citizen (though there is a dissenting opinion which suggests children born abroad may not qualify).
"How do you deal with the fact that citizenship at birth statutes have nearly always required further actions to complete the naturalization process?"
It isn't a naturalization process, because those citizens are citizens at birth. The extra actions (such as reporting the birth to the state department or registering the birth certificate with an embassy) provide proof of that citizenship.