"There are, in short, three ways to become a U.S. citizen--to be born on U.S. soil, to U.S. citizens or foreign nationals; to be born to one or more U.S. citizen parents abroad; and to be born a foreign national, but to become a citizen of the U.S. by immigration to the U.S. and naturalization according to U.S. law.
"The Constitution excludes the third category of American citizens--naturalized immigrants--from ever being eligible to become president of the United States (or vice-president, inasmuch as the vice-president, who might inherit the office, must meet all of the qualifications of a president)."
Michael Lind in Salon calls for a constitutional amendment to let naturalized citizens serve as president.
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It's a bit more complicated than Lind would have it. The constitutional definition of eligibility included those who were citizens at the time the Constitution was adopted. Hence immigrants like Alexander Hamilton were eligible.
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