Ted Cruz renounces Canadian citizenship in statement
(CNN) – Lest any questions remain about Sen. Ted Cruz's national allegiance, the Texas Republican announced Monday he was renouncing his Canadian citizenship.
Cruz was born in Canada to an American mother and a Cuban father, and over the weekend he released his birth certificate to put to rest any questions about his background. In an analysis, the Dallas Morning News speculated Cruz – considered a potential candidate for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination – was a dual citizen of the United States and Canada.
"Because I was a U.S. citizen at birth, because I left Calgary when I was 4 and have lived my entire life since then in the U.S., and because I have never taken affirmative steps to claim Canadian citizenship, I assumed that was the end of the matter," Cruz wrote in his statement.
"Now the Dallas Morning News says that I may technically have dual citizenship. Assuming that is true, then sure, I will renounce any Canadian citizenship," he continued. "Nothing against Canada, but I'm an American by birth, and as a U.S. Senator, I believe I should be only an American."
As speculation ramps up about Cruz's political future, some have questioned his eligibility to become president. Most legal experts have said Cruz qualifies as a "natural born citizen," a requirement for the White House job, as stated in the Constitution.
In the Dallas Morning News Sunday, 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 newspaper.
The senator's office, however, said Cruz has never embraced his legal rights in Canada.
"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."
CNN's Jim Acosta, Ashley Killough and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
Now, let GOP potential candidates tastes their own medicine. How ironic !
Not enough information to really tell – virtually anyone born in Canada is automatically a Canadian citizen – the only exception is if neither of your parents are Canadian citizens AND at least one of them is in Canada as a diplomat or some other foreign-government employee.
Anyway – if it is true that being born abroad is OK if your parent is a US citizen, why was the whole Obama Hawaii thing an issue – his mother is US citizen so if that argument is true it never would have mattered.
Yes yes yes! Gotta love those truth and justice for all tea baggers. I've been telling you they are a bunch of lying hypocrites.
Canada sighs with relief.
He can renounce it all he wants to. If he was born on Canadian soil, Canada still considers him a Canadian citizen. He has every right to pursue Politics in either country, however, he probably wouldn't do very well in Canada.
Yes as a canadian as well.. good riddance.
He is not a natural born citizen because he was born on a sovereign soil of a different country. McCain was a different story, as someone who was born on the military base, which is considere US sovereign soil ( as are the embassies and consulates). Therefore, regardless of his mother's citizeship, he is not eligible to run for the President.
If you were born in Canada, you are a Canadian. Who are these people trying to fool, I guess America.
Denounce your Canadian citizenship all you want Ted but you can't be president. After all it doesn't change the fact you were born there..
Unfortunately for the U.S. he renounced the wrong citizenship ...can we give him a mulligan or "do-over" ?
The question is did he have a passport when he came into the US? Probably not. If he did, then his parents got the appropriate State Department form declaring him a US citizen born abroad and he would be officially and legally a U.S. citizen born abroad. If not he would only have a Canadian birth certificate and, therefore, he is a Canadian citizen regardless of what he says. Denouncing his Canadian citizenship does nothing officially. It’s all in the paperwork, right Obama birthers?
This just proves how inept Obama is. All he had to do was renounce his Kenyan and Indonesian citizenship and he would have been all set.
Uhh Ted, when you are born in a country and live there 4 years you are a Canadian citizen 1st and then possibly a dual citizen of another country 2nd. Obama was born in the U.S. You weren't, no matter how you try to spin it.
The collective IQ of Canada just went up.
From Cruz's standpoint he should probably keep it so he can see what a functional health care system looks like.
As a Canadian I would like to thank Mr Cruz for giving up his Canadian citizenship. The last thing I want is the name of a Canadian connected in anyway to the nut cases in the Tea party.
Since he was born in Canada, that makes him a Canadian. Will the birther conspirators back off of him because he is a Republican tea party favorite?
Please let Ted join the GOP primary. Pleeeeeeease, the campagin and debates will be very fun to watch.
Headline, one Tea Party candidate (Rand) eat the other Canadian Tea Party Candidate (Ted) live in a Birther Parade. There will be blood.
He had one foot in Canada and another in Cuba, that makes him a Canuba citizen.
Republicans in general have renounced their allegiance to America.
Well if he is from Texas then he's definitely NOT and American.
Problem solved. Poof, easy as that he is now a natural born citizen and qualified to be president. Why didn't Obama think of that?
I wonder what the birthers think of him. A sitting elected US Senator that is a Republican who is actually a citizen of a foreign country!!!! Further, he is ONLY considering the renouncement of that foreign allegiance for the fact he might run for President (and it is going ot come out anyway).
My father was also born in Canada to US citizens. He had lived in the US since age 7 and thought he was a US Citizen until 1968 when he moved to a new state and went to register to vote and was denied. He never made claim to his Canadian citizenship and even served in the US Air Force, but was not a US Citizen until he took his citizenship test and the oath of citizenship
He is never going to be president. Ever.
This is a poor way to treat the country you were born in.
You are not a natural born AMERICAN.