Breitbart:
Via @johnekdahl. It’s breathtaking.
My breath was literally taken for a moment when I saw this.
What can you say? There’s simply nothing to say. The thing proves itself, as they say in law. Res ipsa loquitor.
So @washingtonpost, what have you been up to lately? pic.twitter.com/uGk7Qhahz5
— John Ekdahl, Jr. (@JohnEkdahl) August 20, 2013
And a lot of people are wondering about the media’s Strange New Respect for inquiring into a possible presidential candidate’s life in college. Obama’s college years? Never heard of ’em
The facts are fairly straightforward: Ted Cruz was born in Alberta, Canada. His father was Cuban citizen who immigrated to Canada and later became a Canadian citizen; his mother was a citizen of the United States. Ted Cruz came to the United States with his parents at the age of 4.
He announced a couple of days ago that he plans to renounce his Canadian citizenship.
I’m not really clear why he would want to do that. It’s not like this would automatically reverse any complications that might arise owing to his birth in Canada. Either you’re a natural born citizen of the United States at birth or you’re not. Whatever your status is at that point, you certainly can’t change it retroactively. Any argument will revolve around the definition of a natural born citizen, and the circumstances that existed at the time he was born.
I rather like Canada, and would be happy having a rare dual citizenship status. It makes your home where you choose, whenever you wish, without discarding your options. It’s a valuable thing to throw away.
How does someone go about renouncing citizenship of their country of birth? Is there a form you have to fill out? Do you just stand on your front steps waving somebody else’s flag, and renounce it out loud three times?
@Greg:
Do you really not understand dual citizenship?
Which makes him also an American Citizen. This is not a case of ‘a citizen due to immigration.’
Cruz has renounced his Canadian citizenship, and is now only a natural born US citizen, rather than being ‘natural born’ of both nations.
Conversely, Obama has never renounced his Kenyan or Indonesian citizenship(s).
@Ditto, #2:
I understand dual citizenship perfectly well. I’m very concerned that Ted Cruz might only renounce his allegiance to Canada as a matter of appearances. We could be putting a Canadian mole in the Oval Office.
But seriously…
There’s an actual application that Ted Cruz must file in order to renounce his Canadian citizenship. That’s Form CIT 0302, Application to Renounce Canadian Citizenship. He has to complete it and submit it with a $100 processing fee (presumably payable in Canadian dollars). It only becomes effective once it has been officially approved by Citizenship and Immigration, Canada. Thus, if the Canadian government doesn’t want this guy to be President of the United States, they can simply decline his application.
This is funny, eh?
@Greg:
To take office after the Kenyan/Indonesian “mole” we currently have as president, who is trying to transform America to enact the “Dreams” of his socialist father?
Nonsense. Cruz is still a natural born citizen and thus is eligible for the office. Whether Canada accepts his renouncement has no bearing on his eligibility.
I’d love a Cruz candidacy. I can’t help but think of all those busloads of illegal aliens being driven to one polling place after another by federally funded community organizers. I picture them picking up their ballots and seeing the surname Cruz on the ballot waiting to be punched in the privacy of the booth. It makes me smile.
Imagine a Republican winning California!
So, nearly 2 1/2 years later, a Texas lawyer named Newton Schwartz has taken the obvious step and challenged Cruz’s presidential eligibility in court. The case is Schwartz v. Cruz, 4:16-cv-00106, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas. Perhaps the question concerning the exact definition of a natural born citizen will be settled once and for all. This should have been done a long time ago.
@Greg: A Canadian mole in the White House–Aye
Trump ‘s mother was born in Sweden–is he ineligible?
What about Rubio and his 2 wet back parents?
Huckabee’s mother is his father’s 2nd cousin??
@Greg:
Look up Schwartz. Disbarred from 2 states for questionable legal acts.
@Pete, #8:
It’s a legitimate legal issue. I’m guessing the judge will probably rule that Cruz is eligible, however, leaving the definition of “natural born citizen” unresolved. Essentially the suit would be brushed aside.
@Richard Wheeler:
Trump’s Father is a Natural Born Citizen. Trump’s Mother became a citizen prior to his birth. There is no question that Trump fit’s all criteria to be a ‘Natural Born Citizen.’
I find it interesting that (aside from Hillary’s Birthers.) some Democrats sycophants only now want to question what a ‘natural born citizen’ means only now during this final year of Obama’s presidency:
It May Be Time to Resolve the Meaning of ‘Natural Born’
For myself, I don’t know if Cruz is or is not a ‘natural born citizen’. “Anchor baby” Rubio is in no way a ‘natural born citizen’ as both of his parents were illegal immigrants and he was born prior to them becoming US citizens. This means that Rubio is by Cuban law, a born a citizen of Cuba:
Being born abroad does not necessarily make one a citizen of the nation they are born in, so long as that baby is recognized as being a citizen of it’s parent’s home nation. Most UN signatory nations (including the US, Mexico and Cuba) recognize children born to their citizens while traveling abroad as of the parent’s nation of origin. Neither the US, Mexico or Cuba recognizes dual citizenship.
Unless Marco Rubio’s parents filed for him to also become a naturalized US citizen, (once they received their citizenship) and was given permission by Cuba, to change their child’s citizenship to that of the US, then Rubio can not even be considered to be a naturalized citizen. There is no way that Rubio is a ‘natural born citizen.’