Positive law doesn't make someone qualify for a natural law status.
What does that have to do with anything? It's simple. You said anyone covered under 8 USC § 1401 had to be an alien first, because the larger 8 USC was titled "Aliens and Nationality."
But 8 USC § 1401 begins, "The following shall be nationals and citizens of the United States at birth."
When is someone who's a "citizen of the United States at birth" ever an alien? In the womb?