Trump won first
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.
Even “at the embassy itself” doesn’t work!
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That any Alien being a free white person, who shall have resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years, may be admitted to become a citizen thereof on application to any common law Court of record in any one of the States wherein he shall have resided for the term of one year at least, and making proof to the satisfaction of such Court that he is a person of good character, and taking the oath or affirmation prescribed by law to support the Constitution of the United States, which Oath or Affirmation such Court shall administer, and the Clerk of such Court shall record such Application, and the proceedings thereon; and thereupon such person shall be considered as a Citizen of the United States. And the children of such person so naturalized, dwelling within the United States, being under the age of twenty one years at the time of such naturalization, shall also be considered as citizens of the United States. And the children of citizens of the United States that may be born beyond Sea, or out of the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural born Citizens: Provided, that the right of citizenship shall not descend to persons whose fathers have never been resident in the United States: Provided also, that no person heretofore proscribed by any States, shall be admitted a citizen as aforesaid, except by an Act of the Legislature of the State in which such person was proscribed.
I would also point out that Sen Cruz's father DID reside within the United States prior to Sen Cruz's birth.
Trump won first
The ruling affects much more than a presidential race. This legal question has deep historical roots, and has play in deportation cases.
Was Chester A. Arthur’s eligibility to be President ever challenged in court by anyone with standing to bring the challenge and, if it was, what was the outcome and what is the cite to the decision or decisions? Was there a Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton type around at the time to challenge his eligibility, or for that matter, a state ballot access challenger with standing by the laws of one of the states who filed a complaint or objection?
“Ergo, Ted is a US Citizen”
But, not a “natural born citizen”.
Yes, the naturalization act of 1790 was replaced by 1795, who also was exercising their enumerated constitutional authority. And that act was repealed and replace and so on and so forth until we get to the current law as expressed in Title 8 section 1401 - Citizens at birth.
But she was a U.S. citizen who had met the residency requirements the law required. The law does not say that she must be military or diplomat.
“Or is Rubio a natural born citizen regardless of parentage citizenship because he
was born on US soil?”
Defines “Anchor baby to the T”. Not a “natural born citizen”.
Missed this part did you?
Any one born outside the United States, if one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and diplomatic service included in this time)
It’s also why Ted is a Citizen from birth where Obama isn’t. Ted’s Mom was old enough to meet the residency requirement where Barrack’s Mother literally wasn’t old enough...
There is no proof of this.
Yes. He is.
Not “native” born, but then that isn’t what the law stipulates. His Mother meets the residency requirements which is why Ted never needed to be Naturalized.
Further, Ted spent more time growing up in Texas than either McCain or Obama did up to Ted’s current age...
My Dad was born in Munich to Ukrainian immigrants. He is inelligible to run. He was naturailized beofre I was born and married to a US Citizen. If i had been born to them while travelling abroad, I would still be elligible to run for POTUS. I wasn’t though... St. Mary’s in Minneapolis.
Nope Teds mom was not in the military or a diplomat. Sorry...
Only says that military or diplomatic service count towards residency...
Wrong again.
He's a natural-born Cubanadian.
Yes but you have to be with either in the military or a diplomat too.
If it only required the citizenship then it would end with a period. It would not have the additional lines. Sorry....
No court challenge mounted, or would have succeeded if it had. The Harvard Law Review should cover the current status— since 1790, and it would have covered Arthur, also.
Says a CHICAGO LAW PROFESSOR.
give it a rest.
You’re too obsessed.
Strange way of going about it— questioning his legal status to be VP who would become President... if.
You seem to be going out of your way to avoid the central point. Congress has no authority to define the intent of the Framers in choosing language in the Constitution. Further, after the enactment of the 1795 act because of the constitutional questions raised by the 1790 act, Congress never again used the precise Article II presidential eligibility phrase: “natural born citizen.”
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