Question Ted Cruz should ask: Can a foreign-born American be president?

The Los Angeles Times ^ | February 24, 2015 | Doyle McManus

[2ndDivisionVet]

Sen. Ted Cruz is getting close to announcing his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. The Texan is spending almost as much time in Iowa and New Hampshire as he does on Fox News; he's hired a staff and collected a long list of fiercely conservative supporters..

There's at least one hitch: Ted Cruz was born in Calgary, in the Canadian province of Alberta. His mother was a U.S. citizen, born in Delaware; his father, a Cuban refugee working in Canada's oil fields. Thanks to his mother, Cruz was a U.S. citizen at birth.

But that doesn't clear up a legal muddle that's as old as the Constitution: Is a U.S. citizen born abroad qualified to serve as president?

I don't agree with Cruz on most issues. He wants to repeal Obamacare, abolish the Internal Revenue Service and pass a constitutional amendment allowing states to outlaw gay marriage, just to take the top of his list. But I still hope he runs — because it's high time we established the right of Canadian-born Americans to serve as president.

Canadian Americans are perhaps our most underappreciated minority. Their contributions to U.S. culture range from hockey to comedy to, well, hockey. It's an impressive list: Wayne Gretzky, William Shatner, Lorne Michaels, Jim Carrey, Pamela Anderson, Alex Trebek. And now Ted Cruz.

At this point I should confess a personal stake: My oldest daughter was born in Toronto. Like Ted Cruz, she inherited U.S. citizenship through one of her parents. But we assured her that she could grow up to be president of the United States. (Proud of her dual citizenship, she says she'd like to serve as prime minister of Canada too.)

Canada is a wonderful country.....

[humblegunner]

“What still where?”

That would be the one in the un-used barracks, without frost on the roof, on the other side of the drill field. Sir.

Which we all really hope nobody notices. Sir.

Which we all stand here and look at every day, Sir.

Except y'all Staff folks.. who are looking at us. Sir.

[shibumi]

[Darksheare]

Lol, pretty much!

[Old Sarge]

Ogod, the image that just conjured up...

[Col Freeper]

Good on your Eldest.

The military needs good folks.

It will need some "weeding" of the lefties, and other assorted oddballs/noballs/scumballs/etc., sometime in the future.

[Col Freeper]

“Why is there a jet powered still in the back of this hanger?”

“What still where?”

How did you find out about that?

Then I guess you also knew about all the things hidden in the ceiling, behind the asbestos panels, far from the Inspector's eyes.....

[Darksheare]

Artillerymen did similar things.
And inspectors were none the wiser.

[Col Freeper]

At my assignment to a mountaintop in Oregon long ago, the standard test of one of the new Airmen from Tech School was to send them over to Supply with a request for "two fallopian tubes" for the Radar Set.

Since I was ummmm... familiar with the errr... parts being ordered (and said "Say What?), they didn't select me to be the "testee" (they had 35 new Airmen to choose from).

[Darksheare]

I got sent to get a box of grid squares, some squelch hrease, and bulb fluid from supply.
So I asked supply for some graph paper, the old tube of neosporin, and his lighter fluid.
They parted with everything but the lighter fluid.
Needless to say, they didn’t like my solution.
:-(

[humblegunner]

That’s disrespectful.

Almost as much so as when someone stole that big honkin’ speaker off the roof of CHQ.

“Attention In The Area” my ass.

[2ndDivisionVet]

To the editor: A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one non-citizen parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, provided the American parent was physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child’s birth.

For birth between Dec. 24, 1952, and Nov. 13, 1986, a period of 10 years — five after the age of 14 — is required for physical presence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child.

Since Cruz entered the United States in possession of a United States passport, I presume his mother met the physical presence requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Stuart Shelby, Santa Monica

The writer is a retired immigration judge.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-le-0228-saturday-ted-cruz-20150228-story.html

[Arthur McGowan]

This letter shows that Cruz was a citizen at birth.

It also shows that “Obama” was NOT a citizen at birth. (Because he has no birth certificate showing birth on U.S. soil, and his mother had not even lived five years after her fourteenth birthday.) Since “Obama” has never been naturalized, he is not a citizen at this moment.

No one has ever demonstrated conclusively that the authors and ratifiers of the Constitution understood citizenship at birth to be insufficient to satisfy the NBC requirement.

I want the first act of President Cruz to be the arrest of “Obama” and the people who were directly involved in fraudulently placing a non-citizen in the Presidency. I want this to take place BEFORE the beginning of the Inaugural Address.

[SoConPubbie]

Grade school in the ‘50’s taught us two American citizen parents.

Grade school was incorrect.

Please provide the relevant sections of the U.S. Constitution that clearly and unambiguously define "Natural Born" as requiring two U.S. Citizens at birth.

Lacking that, Please provide the relevant sections of U.S. Federal Law that clearly and unambiguously define "Natural Born" as requiring two U.S. Citizens at birth.

Lacking that, Please provide the relevant rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court that clearly and unambiguously define "Natural Born" as requiring two U.S. Citizens at birth.

They don't exist.

[Arthur McGowan]

I’m open to evidence. I did, temporarily several years ago, believe there was evidence. But I don’t anymore.

So prove it. I.e., prove that Ted Cruz is not a “natural born citizen.”

[freepersup]

What did the founders want? Loyalty, or... divided loyalty? How could they prevent that? Could they establish a higher standard for just two positions of leadership in our government? Say- the Commander in Chief, and the individual that might be called upon to assume the role of Commander in Chief? Are you Fogbow-ing? 14 years in country, 35 years of age, and born of citizen parents. Dare I say- a natural born citizen? What? How dare they ask for loyalty and ask for these simple requirements. This particular issue has been run through the ringer for over six years here at FR. I don’t care how many court cases of limited relations you reference. I only care about what the founders intended. Did they intend for lobbying? Did they intend for homosexual marriages? Did they intend for gun grabbing and ammo restrictions? Did they intend for transgenders in the military? Such the F U! Take your filthy carcass back to whence you came you sh!t stirrer.

[SoConPubbie]

What did the founders want? Loyalty, or... divided loyalty? How could they prevent that? Could they establish a higher standard for just two positions of leadership in our government? Say- the Commander in Chief, and the individual that might be called upon to assume the role of Commander in Chief? Are you Fogbow-ing? 14 years in country, 35 years of age, and born of citizen parents. Dare I say- a natural born citizen? What? How dare they ask for loyalty and ask for these simple requirements. This particular issue has been run through the ringer for over six years here at FR. I don’t care how many court cases of limited relations you reference. I only care about what the founders intended. Did they intend for lobbying? Did they intend for homosexual marriages? Did they intend for gun grabbing and ammo restrictions? Did they intend for transgenders in the military? Such the F U! Take your filthy carcass back to whence you came you sh!t stirrer.

We are talking about the constitutional requirements for POTUS, not what you want them to be, not what you think they should be, not what you THINK the founders meant, but the hard and fast constitutional requirements for POTUS.

The Constitutional requirements for POTUS are defined by three different sources, and only those three different sources:

1. The Constitution and its amendments
2. Laws passed by Congress
3. Rulings by SCOTUS


No matter how hard you want "natural-born" to be defined constitutionally as requiring 2 citizen parents at birth, as of now, according to the three sources that define the constitutional meaning of "natural-born", 2 citizen parents at birth is not required.

As such, Senator Ted Cruz is constitutionally speaking, a "natural-born" citizen, he is over 35 years old, and therefore, fully eligible to be POTUS.

Now, if you are truly desirous of having your opinion be the actual constitutional definition of "natural-born", you can do one of three things:

1. Get an amendment to the US Constitution passed that defines it according to your definition.
2. Get a new law through the US Congress and signed by a US President that defines it according to your definition
3. Get SCOTUS to rule that your definition is constitutional.

Without going through any of those 3 processes, your opinion is just that, your opinion and it ain't the constitutional definition of "natural-born" no matter how much you want it to be.

[Nero Germanicus]

The problem is that there have been nineteen court decisions that have found Obama to be a natural born citizen and zero court decisions that have found he is not a natural born citizen.
Congress has never taken up the issue in hearings.
1) Allen v. Obama (Arizona)
2) Ankeny v. Daniels (Indiana)
3) Fair v. Obama (Maryland)
4) Farrar v. Obama (Georgia)
5) Freeman v. Obama (Illinois)
6) Galasso v. Obama (New Jersey)
7) Jackson v. Obama (Illinois)
8) Jordan v. Obama (Washington)
9) Judd v. Obama (California)
10) Kesler v. Obama (Indiana)
11) Martin v. Obama (Illinois)
12) Paige v. Obama (Vermont)
13) Powell v. Obama (Georgia)
14) Purpura, et. al. v. Obama (New Jersey)
15) Strunk v. N.Y. State Board of Elections (NY)
16) Swensson v. Obama (Georgia)
17) Tisdale v. Obama (Virginia)
18) Voeltz v. Obama, et. al. (Florida)
19) Welden v. Obama (Georgia)
Here’s one example from a court decision:
Allen v Obama, Arizona Superior Court Judge Richard E. Gordon: “Arizona courts are bound by United States Supreme Court precedent in construing the United States Constitution, and this precedent fully supports that President Obama is a natural born citizen under the Constitution and thus qualified to hold the office of President. Contrary to Plaintiff’s assertion, Minor v. Happersett, 88 U.S. 162 (1874), does not hold otherwise.”—Pima County Superior Court, Tuscon, Arizona, March 7, 2012

[freepersup]

You’re gum flapping is quite extensive... but in the end, no more succinct than anyone else’s. Bravo- you can quote a chapter or verse to rebuke a lay person- putting the poor bloke to shame, can’t you? The founders made it quite simple, in EVERY aspect that they conveyed. Kindly part with me. I part with you.

[SoConPubbie]

The founders made it quite simple, in EVERY aspect that they conveyed.

Yes they did, and they spelled out everything they needed to be spelled out.

If they felt that having 2 citizen parents at birth was that important to define "natural-born", that's exactly what they would have done.

They didn't.

[freepersup]

David? David Axelrod? Is that you? I swear the next time I'm at a condo meeting and you ignore me, I'm going to shriek like a little girl!

WHAT did the founders intend for the highest office??? Please, oh please remind me.