Of course, there
is an important distinction to be made: someone who is a naturalized citizen is ineligible to serve as president. The "natural born citizen" clause in the American constitution has never been defined, but the consensus is that it means someone who was born in the U.S.
Some notable exceptions and edge cases:
- Anyone who was a citizen of the U.S. at the time of the adoption of the constitution, was 35 years old or older, and a resident for at least 14 years, per Article 2, Section 1
- Barry Goldwater was born in Arizona before it became a state; he was eligible.
- John McCain was born to American citizens on an American naval base in the Panama Canal Zone. The law conferred U.S. citizenship retroactively on anyone born in Panama to at least one American parent. The Senate unanimously agreed that he was a natural born citizen. There were, however, some opinions that he was a natural citizen of Panama, not the United States. He lost the 2008 presidential election and returned to the Senate, so the question, left undetermined, is moot.
- Barack Obama was born in Hawaii to an American mother and a British-Kenyan father, two years after Hawaii became a state. The "birther" conspiracy theory hinges on whether he was actually born in Hawaii--if so, then his natural citizenship is unquestionable.
- Ted Cruz was born in Canada. His mother was American, and his father was then a citizen of Cuba; hence he had dual Canadian-American citizenship from birth. He formally renounced his Canadian citizenship in 2014 prior to his presidential campaign. While his eligibility was questioned, it was also legally challenged several times, all unsuccessfully. Therefore, Cruz can be deemed a natural born U.S. citizen by virtue of his birth to an American parent.
In Kamala Harris' case, there's really no question. She was born to American residents on American soil. The fact that her parents were both immigrants is legally irrelevant to her own citizenship.