Political science expert demolishes MAGA’s bogus 'birther' claims about Harris’ citizenship

08 August 2024

When now-President Joe Biden chose then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) as his running mate in 2020, she became the target of racist "birther" attacks from the far right. Some MAGA Republicans claimed that because of her immigrant parents and the fact that she lived outside the United States during her teens — Montreal, Canada, to be exact — Harris was ineligible for the White House.

Now that she is the official 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, "birther" attacks against Harris have resurfaced.

But Boise State University political science professor Charlie Hunt, in an op-ed published by the Ohio Capital Journal on August 8, debunks racist "birther" claims about Harris' eligibility for the presidency.

"You may have heard the rumor that Kamala Harris isn't eligible to be president because neither of her parents was born in the United States and they had unclear citizenship status when Harris was born in Oakland, California in 1964," Hunt explains. "That's the false claim that some Harris opponents have begun recirculating since she became the Democrats' presumptive nominee for president following President Joe Biden's decision to step aside on July 21, 2024."

Hunt adds, "The claim originated in 2020, when she was chosen as Biden's vice-presidential running mate. John Eastman, Trump's former legal adviser who was indicted for allegedly interfering with the 2020 presidential election, originally circulated this claim. But mainstream legal scholars agree: There's no truth to it."

Hunt emphasizes that the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment is crystal-clear about "birthright citizenship," which Harris enjoys.

"The 14th Amendment establishes what is commonly referred to as 'birthright citizenship' — that if a person is born on American soil, then there is nothing else they need to do to become a fully-fledged citizen of the United States," Hunt notes. "Supreme Court cases since the passage of the 14th Amendment clarify specifically that those born in America to foreign parents qualify as 'natural born.'"

Hunt continues, "Whether Harris would be an effective president is a matter for the voters to decide in a few months. But as a legal matter, she is absolutely eligible to hold the office. Because Harris was born in the U.S., the citizenship status or birthplace of either of her parents is irrelevant. Even those facts have not been enough to quiet some of the falsehood promoters, who more recently have claimed Harris was not born in the U.S. But her birth certificate was reviewed by The Associated Press, and it confirms that she was born in Oakland."

Read Charlie Hunt's full Ohio Capital Journal op-ed at this link.

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