Well, I am confused, maybe someone who is more familiar with the immigration laws of that day could enlighten me.
I was under the impression that Ted’s father originally came to the United States, first. Thus making him, de-facto, a legal citizen of the USA.
However, the final judgement is determined by the SCOTUS and I would love to vote for him, and find out their determination.
He came prior to change in law allowing refugees instant citizenship.
There’s no such thing as a “de facto” U.S. Citizen. Either a person is a “de jure” (under law) U.S. citizen or they aren’t a citizen.
With regard to Barack Obama, in an eligibility lawsuit in New Jersey the court ruled: {Purpura & Moran v Obama:} New Jersey Administrative Law Judge Jeff S. Masin: “No court, federal, state or administrative, has accepted the challengers’ position that Mr. Obama is not a “natural born citizen” due to the acknowledged fact that his father was born in Kenya and was a British citizen by virtue of the then applicable British Nationality Act. Nor has the fact that Obama had, or may have had, dual citizenship at the time of his birth and thereafter been held to deny him the status of natural born. It is unnecessary to reinvent the wheel here. The petitioners’ legal position on this issue, however well intentioned, has no merit in law. Thus, accepting for the point of this issue that Mr. Obama was born in Hawaii, he is a ‘natural born citizen’ regardless of the status of his father.” April 10, 2012
The plaintiffs appealed to the New Jersey Supreme Court which upheld the trial court’s ruling. The plaintiffs then appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States which allowed the lower court’s ruling to stand by denying certiorari.
The law in 1970 when Ted Cruz was born required one U.S. citizen parent if you were born outside of the U.S. The U.S. Citizen parent had to be at least 19 years of age and have lived in the U.S. for at least five years.
Here’s what the current law says on being foreign born and being a “Citizen of the United States At Birth:” “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...” The difference between the current law and the 1970 law is that you had to be FIVE years past the age of 14 (which Ted Cruz’ Delaware born mother was) at the time of the child’s birth.
If Barack Obama was born outside the U.S., his mother was three months too young to confer citizenship-at-birth status to him since she was 18 years and nine months old when he was born.