Ted Cruz releases birth certificate
(CNN) - As Ted Cruz's profile has skyrocketed in the last year–thanks to his election to the U.S. Senate and an attention-grabbing itinerary to early presidential voting states–the Texas Republican's eligibility for president has come under question.
Born in Canada to a U.S. mother and a Cuban father, most legal experts have said Cruz qualifies as a "natural-born citizen," a requirement for the White House job, as stated in the Constitution.
[twitter-follow screen_name='politicalticker'] [twitter-follow screen_name='KilloughCNN']
And Cruz seems to agree. He told ABC News in July that he's not "going to engage in a legal debate."
"The facts are clear," he continued. "I can tell you where I was born and who my parents were. And then as a legal matter, others can worry about that. I'm not going to engage."
But he will release his birth certificate. In fact, he already has.
The Dallas Morning News ran a story late Sunday analyzing Cruz's documents, which he released to the newspaper on Friday.
Legal experts told the paper that Cruz is not only eligible for president in the United States, he's also technically a Canadian citizen and can even run for Parliament. Unless he renounces his citizenship there, he could also obtain a Canadian passport, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The senator's office, however, said Cruz has never embraced his legal rights in Canada, a country that he left when he was four.
"Senator Cruz became a U.S. citizen at birth, and he never had to go through a naturalization process after birth to become a U.S. citizen," spokeswoman Catherine Frazier told the newspaper. "To our knowledge, he never had Canadian citizenship, so there is nothing to renounce."
The recent debate has invoked the controversial "birther" movement that questioned President Barack Obama's eligibility for president. He put the issue to rest in 2011 when he released his long-form birth certificate proving he was born in Hawaii–though a small amount of conspiracists still maintain doubt about the president's place of birth.
Cruz will attend a GOP fundraiser in New Hampshire on Friday. Earlier this summer, he traveled to Iowa twice and stopped in South Carolina in May. All three states typically hold the first three contests in the presidential primary process.
- CNN's Z. Byron Wolf contributed to this report.
From CNN Politics
- Biden administration threatens veto on House GOP-led energy bill
- 10 Cards Charging 0% Interest Until 2024
- Former Fugees member faces federal trial as potential jurors are questioned about star-studded witness list
- Biden's student loan forgiveness program faces a new threat from Senate Republicans
- Why Israel's instability matters to the US
- Untitled
Soooo....a presidential candidate who has dual citizenship, and with a socialist country at that. I can just imagine the screams of condemnation from the GOP. If he wasn't a republican, that is...
Well lets see he's born here in Canada,regardless of who and what his parents are he is one of us Canadians...He's Republican with a Cuban last name so lets call him American.Double standards never works,,they should know that by now.
And I (tongue in cheek) need to ask: Did Cruz release the LONG form or short form of birth certificate? And was it an original? And did someone cross check it with newspapers? I'm just loving this after all the crap people put President Obama through.
birth certificate or no birth certificate.....it doesn't matter....he's not going anywhere.....and we will see if he makes it to another term in congress or not......typically after their first term, you will find out if they are "lifers" or not, IF they get re-elected....to be perfectly honest, he's really not presidential material......neither is the one who holds the current position....but he's IN....that is what the majority voted for, but cruz, well, if he listens to the one from Alaska, he isn't going to make it. Hate to say it, but I would love to vote for a republican, but where are they ? Is there one out there, that is a little more moderate than the ones we have to vote for ?? If I have to vote for one that is so far to the right, I just as well not vote.
Now we all know because he is a Republican there will never be any question. Of course his mother being an American makes this all legal even if he was born in any country othe than the US. But had his name been Obama this would be a real NO NO. Now w all know what the out come will be. Its like th song " Stand by your man " and be a Republican.no ques asked! !!!
The nirthers aren't concerned with what's true, they just hate the black guy. And, that's true.
Go ahead and run a loosing race.
I find it interesting that Michelle Obama told a group at a dinner that she and Barack had recently visited his "homeland" of Kenya to set the example of getting check ups for HIV.
Cruz is a white Republican. His birth certificate won't be an issue to the birth certificate Nazis.
We have a Kenyan Hawaiian and now we may have a Canadian as a president. Are there any Americans left capable of running or ruining the Oval office? LOL!!!!
Peace – "I am very curious to know what citizenship does his father hold."
*****************************************************************
I don't know, but I saw a clip of him speaking, and he's a right wing nut. I assume he left Cuba when Castro took over. While I'm no fan of Castro or Socialism, the gap between the haves and have nots and the abuse of the general population in Cuba led to the Revolution. You know, sorta like the changes that have been happening in the U.S. over the past 30 years, thanks to the Reagan revolution and subsequent Conservative policies. The Cruz's are very comfortable with the idea of a classed society, as it seems, so are a lot of other people who envision they will be in the top tier of the rigid class society the appears to be developing here. I find it horribly un-American and unhealthy toward our future.
@Pandamonius: Canada is not a socialist country.
You are born an America citizen if you are born on American soil. The fact that the mother is American is irrelevant. If Cruz was born in a Canadian hospital, he is not an American Citizen; if he was born on US Embassy grounds, he would be. It does not sound as if Cruz meets the definition of a "natural born" citizen of the United States pursuant to Article !! of the Constituion or Amendment XIV Section 1.
if either of your parents is a US citizen at the time of your birth then you are a natural born us citizen regardless of where you were born. this birther thing is getting off hand.
in Canada, you can be a dual citizen and even just a landed immigrant and be elected to parliament
It's a fake piece of paper. He's a communist. We demand more proof
What is a Certificate of Live Birth?
cruz is a Canadian and out of the running. if he ran he would make goldwater look like a winner.
@Mikey: Very well said and worth repeating. Of course, the rightie-righties don't want to hear it, being the intellectually lazy., low-info, easily-manipulated voters they are.
It's a fake!!! His parents made that birth certificate up because they knew that he would run for President of the US one day.
What controversy? All the wingnut birther conspiracy lunatics belong in the Republican/Tea Party.
calling donald trump, calling donald trump. come in donald trump. we need you.
Canada grants citizenship to all those born there (just like we do here in the U.S.), so, contrary to Cruz's spokesperson, he DOES have dual citizenship. Cruz isn't renouncing it, because that would acknowledge it.
But like so many other facts, just because a Repub doesn't want to accept it, doesn't make it untrue.
Mikey;
Actually Cruz's father fought FOR Castro in the rebellion. He claims to have not known Castro was a Communicst at the time but I'd have to question that. How could you NOT know Castro was a communist.
The word is spelled "THROW" not 'through", you illiterate hack.
Obama shies away from the fact that his MIDDLE name is Hussain though, doesn't he? He's only used it once...during his first election Oath inauguration, and when people began questioning whether he is a Muslim, he never acknowledged the name again. (I'm not a birther nor am I questioning whether he is a Muslim...I'm just stating a fact.)
People questioned Cruz's eligibility to run for President....it's been answered rather quickly compared to how long Obama took to respond. It also doesn't ever answer the question of 'why did Obama pay to have his college records sealed'.....when the liberal media, et al had a field day with Bush 43 over his. There will always be questions about what a GOOD legitimate journalist might have dug up during those days, especially when you consider the fact that, in Obama's own words, he was high as a kite and fuzzy through his last two years of high school......how did he ever get into such prestigious colleges? Our current 'leader' (questionable at best, incompetent at most) has so much hidden from his background that is never answered, let alone questioned by liberal media.
Considering that this is a CNN URL, and the fact that I criticize this president on a liberal media outlet, I suspect my post won't even make it on this blog. But I'm forever the optimist.