- Houston attorney files challenge against Canadian-born senator
- Case presented as 229-year-old question for highest U.S. Court
Cruz’s ‘Natural-Born Citizen’ Status Tested in Birther Suit
- Thread starter Banjo
- Start date
That case will get dismissed because the plaintiff lacks standing. He is not personally involved. The case is also not ripe for adjudication because Cruz has neither been nominated nor elected.
If the issue gets to court, it will be because some state refused to qualify Cruz.
If the issue gets to court, it will be because some state refused to qualify Cruz.
Congress cannot settle it. They can pass a resolution indicating the "Sense of the Senate" or whatever, but it would not be binding on the courts. It's a constitutional requirement, not something congress can waive or modify.
Trump is right that it presents a cloud over Cruz. What if he were elected and some court ruled he was ineligible? Then what? What if he refused to step down, claiming it was a political move? Suppose the republican House refused to impeach him. We would have a genuine Constitutional crisis. Courts might rule any law he signed was not validly enacted.
The Constitution reads: "Natural Born Citizen" without defining what "natural born" means. This has been assumed to be the same as "Native Born" which traditionally is interpreted as someone born in the same land, i.e., country, that they are a citizen of. "Natural born," however, more easily than "native born," may be interpreted as "citizen from birth," as opposed to someone who is by birth a citizen of another land and later becomes a U.S. citizen.
Cruz's mother was apparently a duel citizen of both the U.S. and Canada. (She is said to have been registered to vote in Canadian elections!) The concept of dual citizenship has never been formally recognized by statute in the U.S., but has simply been accepted on the basis of practical considerations. When one "naturalizes" and becomes a citizen of the U.S., as part of the process, they must renounce allegiance to any and all other countries. Thus for naturalized citizens the concept of dual citizenship would seem not to apply; yet those who take the oath to become a U.S. citizen commonly retain passports issued by the country they are emigrating from and may even seek to have them renewed from time to time. This is a topic poorly defined in U.S. law.
Because of the ill defined nature of "Natural Born", and "dual citizenship" in U.S. Constitutional and statutory law, it seems doubtful, mainly because of stare decisis, that Mr. Cruz has anything to worry about. The debate should move to topics more likely to bear fruit, but Mr. Trump is obviously trying to harvest the strange fruit of notoriety, rather than anything useful to the American people. I imagine, therefore, he will persist.
If the character of a person is an important consideration in selecting them for political office, and I say it is, then I submit this is still another reason we should not vote for Mr. Trump.
May I suggest that if only Silvio Berlusconi were a "Natural Born" citizen of he U.S., that he and Mr. Trump would make running mates ideally suited for one another.
![1363556359silvio-berlusconi-economist[1].jpg](https://www.crowdact.com/img/item/share_image/85/1363556359silvio-berlusconi-economist[1].jpg)
Cruz's mother was apparently a duel citizen of both the U.S. and Canada. (She is said to have been registered to vote in Canadian elections!) The concept of dual citizenship has never been formally recognized by statute in the U.S., but has simply been accepted on the basis of practical considerations. When one "naturalizes" and becomes a citizen of the U.S., as part of the process, they must renounce allegiance to any and all other countries. Thus for naturalized citizens the concept of dual citizenship would seem not to apply; yet those who take the oath to become a U.S. citizen commonly retain passports issued by the country they are emigrating from and may even seek to have them renewed from time to time. This is a topic poorly defined in U.S. law.
Because of the ill defined nature of "Natural Born", and "dual citizenship" in U.S. Constitutional and statutory law, it seems doubtful, mainly because of stare decisis, that Mr. Cruz has anything to worry about. The debate should move to topics more likely to bear fruit, but Mr. Trump is obviously trying to harvest the strange fruit of notoriety, rather than anything useful to the American people. I imagine, therefore, he will persist.
If the character of a person is an important consideration in selecting them for political office, and I say it is, then I submit this is still another reason we should not vote for Mr. Trump.
May I suggest that if only Silvio Berlusconi were a "Natural Born" citizen of he U.S., that he and Mr. Trump would make running mates ideally suited for one another.
Last edited: