Racist “Birther” Claims by National Federation of Republican Assemblies Challenge Vice President Kamala Harris’s Presidential Eligibility
Washington, D.C. — The National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA), a conservative organization, has sparked controversy after making claims that Vice President Kamala Harris is not qualified to be the Democratic presidential nominee. The NFRA’s argument centers on the inaccurate assertion that Harris, who was born in Oakland, California, is ineligible for the presidency because her parents were not American citizens at the time of her birth. This claim has been widely criticized and debunked, as Harris, born in Oakland, CA, is a natural-born U.S. citizen, fully qualified to hold any office, including the presidency.
The NFRA, which recently hosted former President Donald Trump at its convention, cited several Supreme Court cases to support its argument, including the racist Dred Scott v. Sandford decision of 1857. In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be considered American citizens and had no right to sue in federal court. However, the Dred Scott decision was rendered obsolete by the adoption of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution in 1868, which guarantees citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, regardless of their parents’ citizenship status.
Legal scholars and political analysts have swiftly condemned the NFRA’s statements as unfounded and racially charged. They point out that the 14th Amendment clearly establishes that anyone born in the United States is a citizen, and therefore, Harris is indisputably eligible to serve as Vice President and potentially as President.
“The argument being made by the NFRA is not only legally baseless but also reflects a disturbing attempt to undermine the legitimacy of one of the highest-ranking officials in our government,” said a prominent constitutional law expert. “The Dred Scott decision has no bearing on the current interpretation of citizenship, and invoking it is both misleading and dangerous.”
Critics have also noted that the NFRA’s stance echoes past “birther” conspiracy theories that questioned the eligibility of former President Barack Obama, despite his being born in Hawaii to an American mother. These claims were widely discredited but persisted in certain circles, often seen as racially motivated attempts to delegitimize a prominent Black politician.
Vice President Harris, the first woman, first Black woman, and first person of South Asian descent to hold the office of Vice President, was born in Oakland in 1964. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was an immigrant from India, and her father, Donald Harris, an immigrant from Jamaica. Despite the NFRA’s assertions, Harris’s citizenship and eligibility for the presidency are unequivocally supported by the Constitution.