If you believe that ones needs a law degree to understand and interpret law, then you do not know your founding fathers who wrote the Constitution and ratified it. And the courts can only decide upon the evidence placed in front of them, evidence that as of yet, NO lawyer is willing to bring to the table because they ALL know it will expose their lies, or ignorance of the law, you pick which one you like, I prefer to call them what they are, liars for political gain.
ALL those defending Cruz ignore the actual law that is on the books to this day and the reason that Cruz had to renounce his Canadian citizenship.
CHAP. CCXLIX – An Act concerning the Rights of American Citizens in foreign States. Approved July 27, 1868.
Right of expatriation declared.
Whereas the right of expatriation is a natural and inherent right of all people, indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and whereas in the recognition of this principle, this government has freely received emigrants from all nations, and invested them with the rights of citizenship; and whereas it is claimed that such American citizens, with their descendants, are subjects of foreign states, owing allegiance to the governments thereof; and whereas it is necessary to the maintenance of public peace that this claim of foreign allegiance should be promptly and finally disavowed; Therefore,
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any declaration, instruction, opinion, order, or decision of any officers of this government which denies, restricts, impairs, or questions the right of expatriation, is hereby declared inconsistent with the fundamental principles of this government.
Protection to naturalized citizens in foreign states.
Sec. 2. And be it further enacted, That all naturalized citizens of the United States, while in foreign states, shall be entitled to, and shall receive from this government, the same protection of persons and property that is accorded to native-born citizens in like situations and circumstances.
8 U.S. Code § 1448 - Oath of renunciation and allegiance
(a) Public ceremony
A person who has applied for naturalization shall, in order to be and before being admitted to citizenship, take in a public ceremony before the Attorney General or a court with jurisdiction under section 1421(b) of this title an oath (1) to support the Constitution of the United States; (2) to renounce and abjure absolutely and entirely all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which the applicant was before a subject or citizen; (3) to support and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
Authorities (U.S. Code)
8 CFR 337.1 - Oath of allegiance
§ 337.1 Oath of allegiance.
(a) Form of oath. Except as otherwise provided in the Act and after receiving notice from the district director that such applicant is eligible for naturalization pursuant to § 335.3 of this chapter, an applicant for naturalization shall, before being admitted to citizenship, take in a public ceremony held within the United States the following oath of allegiance, to a copy of which the applicant shall affix his or her signature:
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.
The above Act of Congress in 1868 that Title 8 is referring to is the authority by which Rafael Edward (Ted) Cruz renounced his former citizenship and officially became an exclusive citizen of the United States of America. Natural born citizens do not require such action because from birth, their exclusive allegiance has been to the United States of America. By taking the oath of naturalization (formally renouncing his Canadian citizenship before a judge), Ted Cruz admitted that, for constitutional purposes, he is a naturalized US citizen.
Buchanan Administration (9 Ops. ATT’Y GEN. 3.56 (1859))
“The question then arises, what rights do our laws confer upon a foreigner by granting him citizenship? I answer, all the rights, privileges and immunities which belong to a native-born citizen, in their full extent with the single qualification that under the constitution, “no person except a natural born citizen is eligible to the office of President…â€
“Here none but a native can be President…A native and a naturalized American may therefore go forth with equal security over every sea and through every land under Heaven…They are both of them American citizens, and their exclusive allegiance is due to the Government of the United States. One of them never did owe fealty elsewhere, and the other, at the time of his naturalization…threw off, renounced and abjured forever all allegiance to every foreign prince, potentate, State and sovereignty whatever, and especially to that sovereign whose subject he had previously been.â€
Not at all. The fact is that your interpretation may be exactly what the founders intended and any court that would interpret it any way other than yours would not be consistent with the founders.
Ahh, but here's the rub. You do need a law degree to be an appeals court judge and it is Lawyers and not historians who get to decide issues like "Is Ted Cruz eligible?"
As a practicing attorney I am very confident that if this issue is heard by Appeals Court Judges or the Supreme Court, they are going to follow the reasoning in that law review article. Why? Because for the most part, judges are lazy and the easiest decision they could make is that if you are born a citizen, you are a natural born citizen. If they have to go beyond that, then they have to write pages and pages of reasoning and quote the founders, and quote Vattel and Cicero and Julius Ceasar and St. Paul and the Beatles.... and that ain't gonna happen.
So if you really really want this issue decided once and for all by the courts, you are going to be sorely disappointed at the end result.
Trump doesn't want the courts deciding this issue for 2 reasons.
1) He wants the issue. He wants people to wonder and argue as to whether or not Ted Cruz is an NBC.
2) He knows he would lose and it would embarrass him.
Carry on.
Totally irrelevant. Cruz did not apply for naturalization. He was not naturalized. He was a citizen at birth, which is synonymous with natural born citzen (unless you can show otherwise, which I doubt).