Most scholars who've studied it with Rubio, McCain, Obama, and now Cruz find that fact makes him natural born by default. He did not require naturalization. If you don't need naturalization, then you must be natural born.
....as I understand all the current debates.
So does that mean that the 300,000 anchor babies born each year to illegal aliens are natural born and eligible to be President? What about the thousands of children born each year to tourists?
There are two kinds of natural born citizens: (1) Those born on US soil (jus solis); and (2)those born elsewhere to US citizens thru blood (jus sanguinis)--derivative citizenship. The latter requires that certain conditions be met and that you must apply to gain citizenship. It is not automatic.
I think that's a fair and accurate summary or one side of the debate, the side that concludes Cruz is NBC.
Th way I summarize the other side, the one that says Cruz is not NBC but is naturalized, is stated by SCOTUS.
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 foreign-born 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.Rogers v. Bellei, 401 U.S. 815 (1971)
I persist that the legal question is purely academic. The court won't interfere with the political process -- the constitution envisions the possibility of an ineligible candidate obtaining the most votes.
I can't imagine Congress reversing the outcome of an election of a person who was a citizen at birth, and once seated, SCOTUS won't touch the case. Can you imagine the upheaval? It would be socially unsettling to say the least. No, the appearance of everything proceeding in order is more important than getting it right.
Most scholars who've studied it with Rubio, McCain, Obama, and now Cruz find that fact makes him natural born by default.
As I understand it, Cruz continues to be a citizen dependent upon the kindness of Congress.
Congress can pass any change in naturalization laws it wants, and I will forever remain a citizen because I was born in the United States of two parents who were American citizens.
This, IMHO, is the difference in citizenship between Ted Cruz and myself. And the difference is meaningful and should be preserved--lest we open the Oval Office to anyone born anywhere, living anywhere who has one American parent.
We need to put the genie unleashed by Barack Obama back in the bottle while we still can.