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.
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Probably a pre-emptive measure in case Canada ever decides that Cruz is too looney-tunes to be a citizen of their country.
Too little, too late. He is NOT "a natural born US citizen"...not by GOP standards which claim that he must be the child of TWO US citizens.
Anyone who supports Cruz in any way-let alone votes for him-is admitting that Obama IS a natural born US citizen, eligible to be POTUS, and so lawfully POTUS.
Wow, already appearing as both an idiot and a liar, he digs himself deeper by announcing that he DIDN'T KNOW he held dual citizenship. Does anyone really think they would like him to be in charge of anything more complex than the toppings on their pizza order?
God forbid anyone should have dual citizenship - especially with a rogue state like Canada!
Actually, he announced his intentions to renounce his citizenship, should he actually hold it. Until he walks into a Canadian consulate and officially renounces it, he still maintains it (if he has it in the first place)
Don't you get a choice at a certain age of which you choose your citizenship? He's really screwing himself over with this.
Only NOW we find out that you DID NOT HAVE to be born in the US to be a US citizen. After all the 'birther' controversy with Barak Obama.
Texas HATES diversity. How truly American.
He is a Canadian citizen (the Government of Canada defines him as such, by birth on Crown Lands). Also, this can't be renounced. He'll always be a dual citizen.
Wish he would renounce his senatorship. Then he could honestly claim to have accomplished something.
trust me, you guys can have him! I doubt he'd be too comfortable up here in Canada, with our equal rights, universal health care, rights to choose, and so on. He's about as unCanadian as they come!
What about Cuban? Isn't he also a Cuban citizen by that logic?
Maybe all my history books were incorrect? I thought the Founding Fathers clearly mandated that you've to be physically born on US soil to be able to run for the President's job.
Yeah I didn't realize he had dual citizenship. I hate to say it but this is a Supreme court case. I previously supported his running but that was when I thought he had only American citizenship. The provision is so citizens of other countries can't run. He clearly WAS a citizen of another country which muddies the waters enough that I have to say he probably can't legally run. The fact he could run for Parliament up until he renounced his citizenship proves he had split allegiance. Born out of the country isn't an issue but citizenship in another country is most definately a issue.
I was ALWAYS told by my teachers in school that to be President you had to be born on US SOIL That even if your parents were citizens, being born in another country disqualified you. But now I hear that is wrong.
So...... Which is it really???
GOP is funny, Hawaii born candidate for president is not OK but Canadian born president who I assume would be a naturalized US citizen somehow OK to be a presidential candidate. Height of Hypocrisy.
So, like many other Cubans before you, your family came through Canada, and waited. Now, you will throw all of the others before under the bus, so that YOU can go on the National Stage. How many pieces of Silver did you get?
The birthers strike again.
Believe me, Canada doesn't want him any more than we do. Let's deport him to a country that deserves him. Mexico, for example.
I'm sure everyone in Canada is tearing up over this news...yawn...
Glad you did. Can you renounce your American citizenship too and move back to Cuba?
I would never ever renounce to my Canadian citizenship!
If he was born in Canada he is Canadain citizen, if he wants to renounce his legal citizenship as a Canadian he can do that, but he was born in Canada and he can't change that, if he moved when he was four he was and is still a Canadian citizen. He can take an American citizenship test and become an American, otherwise he is like all the rest who fail to notify the government of the US illegal. Hahaha
Good thing it's not the other way around. The IRS would bankrupt him the exit/death tax.
you're welcome to him.