Is Ted Cruz a natural born citizen of the United States?

Is Ted Cruz a natural born citizen of the United States?

This seems to be the question of the day and has brought the “birthers” out of hiding. Donald Trump loves to toot his “birther” horn ever since Obama became president. Trump and his “Trumpets” have brought it to the attention of America that Ted Cruz is allegedly not a natural born citizen because he was born in Canada. Simply put, the law and Constitution prove that this is a bunch of hogwash.  So let’s put this weak and overreaching argument to rest once and for all.

First, let us examine what the Constitution says about it.

The U.S. Constitution Article 2 Section 1:

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

This establishes the presidential citizenship requirement, and it’s fairly simple. Now let’s look at the 14^th Amendment:

1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

This is also fairly simple, but is not specific.  That’s because it was written to be a framework for the law.

Now let us look at Title 8 of the U.S. Code to fill in the specifics. Section 1401 defines the following as people who are “citizens of the United States at birth”:

1. Anyone born inside the United States
2. Any Indian or Eskimo born in the United States, provided being a citizen of the U.S. does not impair the person’s status as a citizen of the tribe
3. Any one born outside the United States, both of whose parents are citizens of the U.S., as long as one parent has lived in the U.S.
4. Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year and the other parent is a U.S. national
5. Any one born in a U.S. possession, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for at least one year
6. Anyone found in the U.S. under the age of five, whose parentage cannot be determined, as long as proof of non-citizenship is not provided by age 21
7. Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included in this time)
8. A final, historical condition: a person born before 5/24/1934 of an alien father and a U.S. citizen mother who has lived in the U.S.

With Ted Cruz in mind, let’s examine number 7 more closely:  Any person born outside the US, as long as one parent is a citizen of the U.S, is a citizen of the U.S..  Ted Cruz’s Mother, Eleanor Elizabeth Darragh Wilson, was born in Wilmington, Delaware, and she lived in the U.S. for at least five years. So, according to Title 8, Section 1401 of the US code, Ted Cruz qualifies as a natural born citizen of the United States.

Ted Cruz was born in Canada in 1970, and his father moved him to the US in 1974.  Because Ted lived in Canada until the age of 3, he never had to petition for citizenship. The Constitution requires that a person must be a “natural born” citizen to be eligible for the Office of President. Since Cruz did not have to petition to become a US citizen he is not a naturalized citizen;  therefore, because it is the only other option, Ted Cruz is a natural born citizen of the United States.

Now let’s look at Section 301(g) of the INA (Immigration and Nationality Act):

…a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years: Provided, That any periods of honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or periods of employment with the United States Government or with an international organization as that term is defined in section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act (59 Stat. 669; 22 U.S.C. 288) by such citizen parent, or any periods during which such citizen parent is physically present abroad as the dependent unmarried son or daughter and a member of the household of a person (A) honorably serving with the Armed Forces of the United States, or (B) employed by the United States Government or an international organization as defined in section 1 of the International Organizations Immunities Act, may be included in order to satisfy the physical-presence requirement of this paragraph. This proviso shall be applicable to persons born on or after December 24, 1952, to the same extent as if it had become effective in its present form on that date.

Cruz’s mother fulfils the requirements for citizenship under Section 301(g) of the INA.  And again,  according to the law of the United States, Ted Cruz is a natural born citizen of the United States because .

Let’s look at the other requirements for President:  Is Ted Cruz older than 35? Yes, he was born in 1970. Has Ted resided in the United States for more than 14 years? Yes, his father moved him to Texas in 1974.

The Constitution and the laws of our country make it crystal clear that Ted Cruz is both a natural born citizen of the United States and eligible to the Office of President. Can we please stop repeating the distracting ignorance and move onto tackling the real issues this country faces?

Such as, which candidate is best qualified to address these issues going into the future…..

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Todd Steinmetz is a common sense conservative and history buff that believes America needs to return back to a small government that performs its core duties spelled out in the Constitution. He firmly believes that those who fail to learn from the lessons of the past are doomed to repeat them; history proves his belief to be true.  Find Todd on Facebook.