Thread by @everywhereist

Oooh, this is fun. Let's talk about how being a citizen works.

Kamala was born in Oakland. The U.S. has something pretty rare - it's called birthright citizenship. It means that if you were born here, you are a citizen of this country, no matter where your parents are from.

https://twitter.com/JacobAWohl/status/1087736259517108224

There are other paths to citizenship even if you aren't born in the U.S. - you can become a naturalized citizen. This is the 5-year status as a resident with a green card that Wohl refers to. I have friends/relatives who've done this.

This is detailed here: uscis.gov/citizenship/ed…

Wohl claims Kamala's parents weren't citizens when she was born. This seems to be true. But that doesn't matter. She was born here. If you were born here, you are a natural-born citizen. Doesn't matter if your parents are or not.

We actually see this dynamic a lot - kids are citizens, parents aren't. It's why so many families are being torn apart with deportation right now. Because the kids have birthright citizenship.

Anyway, Kamala was born here. She's a citizen. Why is Wohl saying she isn't?

Because "she's not a citizen" is an easy way to otherize someone. He's trying to find a "legitimate" reason for why she can't run for President, grounded in an antiquated law. But really? It's because she's a WoC and mixed race.

John McCain was born in Panama - there could have been an argument that he wasn't a natural-born citizen. Ted Cruz was born to a non-citizen mom. Trump's mom was an immigrant. But we NEVER heard about them being ineligible to run for office.

Oh, and the whole reason that you can't run for office if you aren't born in America? Well, that clause was intended to protect the nation from foreign influence.

Donald Trump was born in NYC.

The irony. It burns.