Ted Cruz releases birth certificate
August 19th, 2013
08:58 AM ET
10 years ago

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.

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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.


Filed under: 2016 • Ted Cruz • Texas
soundoff (616 Responses)
  1. vr45

    Birth certificates do not have photo. He is not Ted, he claims to be.

    August 19, 2013 01:48 pm at 1:48 pm |
  2. Truth_etc.

    Ted Cruz is a 1st class Texas Tea-bag who alternately shrugs off or exploits his heritage at will.

    August 19, 2013 01:49 pm at 1:49 pm |
  3. LVSam

    It is already too late. Clinton has it unless she self-destructs.

    August 19, 2013 01:49 pm at 1:49 pm |
  4. veep

    Mr. Cruz will never get the nomination of his Party.

    August 19, 2013 01:50 pm at 1:50 pm |
  5. Mary Dickey

    The point is that if you were born to at least one parent who is a US citizen then you are an American citizen as well. Even if you were born in a country other than the US.

    August 19, 2013 01:50 pm at 1:50 pm |
  6. Joe Rockbottom

    Not so fast. It's not quite as simple as just saying he was born to a US mother...there are rules that complicate the issue -specifically whether the mother spent a certain amount of time in the US before the birth. She probably does qualify, but it has to be applied for and determined BEFORE the birth. It is not at all automatic.

    August 19, 2013 01:51 pm at 1:51 pm |
  7. WPGSAH

    So Trump will not admit the Cruz logic would also have to applicable to Obama.Cruz was not born in the USA. Ask him if his logic regarding being an American is valid for Obama too. Then the issue is over

    August 19, 2013 01:51 pm at 1:51 pm |
  8. Danko Ramone

    Here's the part where his spokesperson completely lies through her teeth:

    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."

    It doesn't matter what he "embraced." By being born IN Canada, HE HAS CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP. In fact, per Canadian law, his children will automatically have citizenship in Canada as well, given he, a Canadian citizen, is their parent.

    August 19, 2013 01:53 pm at 1:53 pm |
  9. roi

    Forgot where he was born The real key to Cruz is the he is a Harvard Educated (through Affirmative Action) Idiot.

    That should disqualify him from being President

    August 19, 2013 01:53 pm at 1:53 pm |
  10. Dar nation

    Sorry Sen.Ted Cruz Is not eligible for the position of POTUS .The person seeking to attain the position must be born on U.S soil. One or both of their parents being U.S.citizens does not matter.

    August 19, 2013 01:55 pm at 1:55 pm |
  11. Rmblin man

    I also was born in Canada to American parents, but during the Vietnam war, I had to declare citizenship account of the draft. I had to go thru the citizenship process.

    August 19, 2013 01:56 pm at 1:56 pm |
  12. TM

    So now it's the Birthers vs the Teabaggers? I only have one question. Where's the popcorn?

    August 19, 2013 01:58 pm at 1:58 pm |
  13. David Adams

    @Nancy Ruiz According the the law, both your children are eligible to be U.S. Presidents, as long as you, as a U.S. citizen lived in the U.S. for 5 years. This means that both your children are U.S. citizens at birth and are eligible. Same law that makes Cruz eligible. If you are a U.S. citizen at birth, you are eligible (once you are 35 years old).

    August 19, 2013 01:58 pm at 1:58 pm |
  14. OH REALLY

    If you are born in Canada, you are a Canadian citizen. Not an American citizen. He does not qualify to run for president. Just the G.O.P. bending the rules again so they can get the oval office. Nice try.

    August 19, 2013 02:02 pm at 2:02 pm |
  15. Anita B

    No US citizen, as I figured, he's a fraud....too much talk was a dead give away

    August 19, 2013 02:05 pm at 2:05 pm |
  16. toaster463

    Which begs the question, even if Obama was born in Kenya like the birthers say, he would STILL be eligible because his mother was American! Right? so if Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother, and thats ok, then why wouldnt be ok for Obama in Kenya? Doesnt this whole story just expose once and for all that the birther controversy is totally bogus and based in racism???

    August 19, 2013 02:05 pm at 2:05 pm |
  17. afnmvet

    There are thousands of U.S military dependents born every year at an overseas hospital to a U.S. father/mother and a foreign national father/mother. All of these people are considered natural born U.S. citizens and Mr. Cruz should be also.

    August 19, 2013 02:07 pm at 2:07 pm |
  18. crimsoninok

    THIS is your next POTUS.. Christie doesnt have a PRAYER next to Cruz.. Cruz has a cleaner past (not having to answer questions about the MOB and unions). He is a constitutional lawyer.. He is hispanic and he understands the role of the POTUS.. I will vote for him to be re-elected a 3rd time after his 1st 2 terms.. In case you people wonder about the Tea Party supporting him, THEY ALREADY HAVE.. They are the reason he was elected in TX in the first place.

    August 19, 2013 02:07 pm at 2:07 pm |
  19. Mary Smith

    He is a U.S. citizen but he is NOT a "natural born" citizen as required by the Constitution. In order to be a "natural born" citizen he must be born on U.S. soil. The Founders were very clear on this. They didn't want a naturalized British subject to run the country.

    August 19, 2013 02:07 pm at 2:07 pm |
  20. toaster463

    So Cruz was born to an American mother in Canada. And if you believe the Obama birthers, Obama was born to an American mother in Kenya. Why would it be ok for Cruz and not ok for Obama? Doesnt this expose once and for all that the birthers movement is nothing more than thinly veiled racism?

    August 19, 2013 02:09 pm at 2:09 pm |
  21. Bull

    I didn't know there were any Canadians as stupid as Cruz.

    August 19, 2013 02:10 pm at 2:10 pm |
  22. Calcommuter

    No, he's not eligible to be the American President because he was born in Canada. But he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

    August 19, 2013 02:11 pm at 2:11 pm |
  23. JamesT

    To Nancy Ruiz: Your daughter isn't eligible because she was born in Puerto Rico? Puerto Rico is an United Stated Territory, doesn't that qualify it as American Soil?

    August 19, 2013 02:12 pm at 2:12 pm |
  24. MHD

    He has dual citizenship. He will have to officially denoubce his Canadian citizenship if he won before he could take the oath of office.

    August 19, 2013 02:13 pm at 2:13 pm |
  25. Maobama

    I hope anyone who questions his eligibility is ridiculed and labled racist like the obama "birthers" were.

    August 19, 2013 02:14 pm at 2:14 pm |
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