Posted on 02/10/2016 1:55:32 PM PST by drewh
With Ted Cruz the victor of the first contest of the GOP nominating calendar, we can no longer avoid the question mischievously posed by Donald Trump: Is Cruz ineligible to be president? Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother and a Cuban father. The Constitution says that only a “natural born citizen†can be president. Is Cruz a natural born citizen? (You may recall that before he attacked Cruz on this front, Trump spent months flogging a ludicrous version of this critique against President Obama, who was actually born in the United States, unlike Cruz.)
The words natural born citizen, and their original meaning at the time that this constitutional clause was crafted, go a long way to answering this question. In founding-era America, like today, a person could be a citizen by virtue of birth on American territory; a citizen by virtue of a statute that granted citizenship to him at birth; a “naturalized†citizen, meaning one who entered the country as an alien but later obtained citizenship via a process determined by law; and a foreigner.
A natural born citizen cannot be a foreigner. Foreigners are not citizens. A natural born citizen cannot be a person who was naturalized. Those people are not born citizens; they’re born aliens. Most important for the purposes of the Cruz question, a natural born citizen cannot be someone whose birth entitled him to citizenship because of a statute—in this case a statute that confers citizenship on a person born abroad to an American parent. In the 18th century, as now, the word natural meant “in the regular course of things.†Then, as now, almost all Americans obtained citizenship by birth in this country, not by birth to Americans abroad. The natural way to obtain citizenship, then, was (and is) by being born in this country. Because Cruz was not “natural bornâ€â€”not born in the United States—he is ineligible for the presidency, under the most plausible interpretation of the Constitution.
When was that? The last I heard was he said he couldn’t pick Cruz unless it was settled first. As far as I know he still maintains it isn’t settled, which is true. The fact that you have bonafide experts arguing both sides clearly shows it’s not settled. I believe if Cruz were the nominee Democrat Secretaries of State in at least some swing states would refuse to put him on the ballot. Then Cruz would have to sue, and there is no way of knowing how it would be decided.
BTW, Trump saying he would consider something is his default answer. I could say I might consider moving to Iran. For about 2 seconds. So what? He could consider it and decide he can’t pick Cruz because of the birth issue.
Yep. That law was designed to prevent the children of 18 year old draftees serving overseas from claiming citizenship.
Cite the ruling.
So says some un named chucklehead.
I thought citizenship naturally passes via the mother’s blood. Now you tell me Congress can arbitrarily take the mother’s power away?
The words of Article II, section I, clause 5 have not changed in any way since the constitution was adopted on June 01, 1788 nor have their meaning. Chester A. Arthur is irrelevant.
Bellei was not 'born * * * in the United States,' but he was, constitutionally speaking, 'naturalized in the United States.' Although those Americans who acquire their citizenship under statutes conferring citizenship on the foreignborn children of citizens are not popularly thought of as naturalized citizens, the use of the word 'naturalize' in this way has a considerable constitutional history. Congress is empowered by the Constitution to 'establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization,' Art. I, S: 8. Anyone acquiring citizenship solely under the exercise of this power is, constitutionally speaking, a naturalized citizen.
Well he walks around like the great Constitutionalist, this seems like just the opposite. Is he going to argue the Constitution does not apply to him?
No
You trump supports are so smart, look it up or should I have said try and keep up.......you choose.
Title 8 Section 1401, established by act of Congress exercising it’s authority under Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution defines those who are citizens at birth and do not need to be naturalized, and are therefore naturally born as US citizens.
It does, and Cruz is a NBC b a use his mother is a citzen, just like trump is a NBC because his father was a citizen.
You trump supporters are really a one note group.
My daughter gave birth to a son while working on assignment in Italy and lived there for three years
My grandson is not an Italian citizen nor has he ever been offered Italian citizenship!
My cousin's niece has been stationed in Germany for the Air Force. She met, fell in love with and married a fellow U. S. service member, who is not an American citizen.
Her baby (due in 6 months) will not be a German, nor will it be a citizen of Argentina (the Birth country of the expectant father) but will be an American citizen and has had that confirmed to her parents, who wondered after all Trump's pseudo "citizenship flap!"
The other angle; was he a NATURALIZED citizen? No he wasn’t. As there is no other “3rd type” of citizen he must be considered a natural born citizen. There’s no in-between!!
Doesn’t take much to be smarter than you. You can’t cite them because they don’t exist. It’s moot anyway, Cruz won’t be the nominee for president or VP ever.
I’ll never let this go and I have lost all respect for the so called conservatives that are wiping their a55es with the constitution for Ted Cruz simply because he out-Jesuses the rest of the candidates. I’ll never let it go.
Never said Eleanor Darragh Wilson Cruz was Cuban nor a migrant.
That’s a pretty bold prediction.
The guy won’t be prime POTUS age for another 3-4 election cycles.
Do you know the difference between citizen and Natural Born Citizen?
The law is clear, and you are wrong. Don’t like it? Change the law...
Correct...
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