# Cruz and Natural Born Citizen **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 23, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812 "2015-03-23T20:32:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/1 "2015-03-23T20:32:03Z")
I searched this forum and GD but to my surprise I could not find a thread on this. He was born in Canada to a Cuban father and an American mother. He, therefore, is a naturalized citizen of the USA, but also of Cuba and Canada, depending upon the laws of those two countries. He has announced his candidacy for the office of the President of the USA. Must he renounce his other citizenships? ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/2 "2015-03-23T20:33:38Z")
[Cruz already renounced his Canadian citizenship](http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ted-cruz-tea-party-favourite-renounces-canadian-citizenship-1.2671479) ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/3 "2015-03-23T20:34:53Z")
[Also, he was never a Cuban citizen](http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20130818-ted-cruz-born-a-citizen-of-canada-under-the-countrys-immigration-rules.ece) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/4 "2015-03-23T20:37:58Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > He, therefore, is a naturalized citizen of the USA, but also of Cuba and Canada, depending upon the laws of those two countries. He’s not a **naturalized US citizen** , which involves a process that takes place after birth. He is a **natural born US citizen** due to his mother being a US citizen. The two phrases are different and distinct. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/5 "2015-03-23T20:39:36Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > He’s not a **naturalized US citizen** , which involves a process that takes place after birth. He is a **natural born US citizen** due to his mother being a US citizen. The two phrases are different and distinct. I admit, it makes no sense to me, why he can run and a naturalized citizen can not. Honestly, the whole “natural born” citizen crap should be stricken anyway. It should be “citizen, who has lived in the US for X years”. X being a lot of years for President. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/6 "2015-03-23T20:50:54Z")
The only question is whether his parents reported his birth to the local US consulate when he was born in Calgary. If not, there’s still a question. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/7 "2015-03-23T20:56:46Z")
What about these threads? [Setting the record straight on Americans born overseas and the presidency?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=699392) [Is Ted Cruz Canadian?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=704689) [Ted Cruz abandons his Canadian political ambitions](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=730957) [Is it law or SOP that dual citizens can’t become President/PM?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=749541) [I’m going to call the kettle black: Let’s see the birth certificate!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=752456) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/8 "2015-03-23T20:58:18Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I admit, it makes no sense to me, why he can run and a naturalized citizen can not. Honestly, the whole “natural born” citizen crap should be stricken anyway. It should be “citizen, who has lived in the US for X years”. X being a lot of years for President. When the Constitution was written there was a serious fear of some foreign nobleman infiltrating the young republic’s political system and establishing himself as an absentee ruler. The rule can be changed by amendment but nobody’s really that interested in doing it. Passing constitutional amendments is a lot of work. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/9 "2015-03-23T21:14:31Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The only question is whether his parents reported his birth to the local US consulate when he was born in Calgary. If not, there’s still a question. I don’t believe this has any bearing on whether he was a natural born citizen. My impression was that it just makes gathering the documentation more difficult. But as long as he can demonstrate that his mother was a US citizen at the time of his birth then it’s not something that would require naturalization. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/10 "2015-03-23T21:37:53Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I admit, it makes no sense to me, why he can run and a naturalized citizen can not. Honestly, the whole “natural born” citizen crap should be stricken anyway. It should be “citizen, who has lived in the US for X years”. X being a lot of years for President. I completely agree. As to the OP, Cruz is a natural-born citizen. He did not have to be naturalized. Those are the only two options. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/11 "2015-03-23T21:41:27Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > When the Constitution was written there was a serious fear of some foreign nobleman infiltrating the young republic’s political system and establishing himself as an absentee ruler. > > The rule can be changed by amendment but nobody’s really that interested in doing it. Passing constitutional amendments is a lot of work. As it stands right now it is sensibly interpreted to mean “a citizen by birth according to the laws”, which was clarified some years back for Senator McCain, who was born while his father was deployed to Panama, and earlier for Senator Goldwater who was born in Arizona when it was incorporated territory but before it was a state. Since the actual US Nationality law does not mention the phrase “natural born” anywhere but rather only refers to citizens “[by/at] birth”, and the Constitution just throws it out without explaining it, there’s always someone who wonders if that does not mean there’s some double-secret special condition such as that one had to have been “native” to an already-admitted state, or that _both_ parents had to be themselves citizens, or some other such. (Why nobody has ever bothered to explicitly enact a law that “For the purposes of application of Article II Section 1 of the Constitution, _natural-born citizen_ means having citizenship by/at birth. No extraordinary evidence beyond those documents that are considered proof of citizenship for applying for a Security Clearance shall be required to prove this condition” is separate question). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/12 "2015-03-23T21:44:28Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I admit, it makes no sense to me, why he can run and a naturalized citizen can not. Honestly, the whole “natural born” citizen crap should be stricken anyway. It should be “citizen, who has lived in the US for X years”. X being a lot of years for President. Interesting opinion, but absolutely not a factual answer to the OP. As already noted, that clause is in the constitution for a reason. Whether that reason is still valid is up to the people, who have not made any significant effort to change it yet, let alone coming close to actually changing it. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/13 "2015-03-23T21:45:16Z")
**Anaamika** > [@](#): > > I admit, it makes no sense to me, why he can run and a naturalized citizen can not. Honestly, the whole “natural born” citizen crap should be stricken anyway. It should be “citizen, who has lived in the US for X years”. X being a lot of years for President. Is your real name Arnold Schwarzenegger? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/14 "2015-03-24T02:57:52Z")
Ted Cruz has commented on his Canadian heritage: > [@Ted Cruz](#): > > Canadians are so polite, mild-mannered, modest, unassuming, open-minded. > > Thank God my family fled that oppressive influence before it could change me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/15 "2015-03-24T05:48:32Z")
So his father is from a communist country and he was born in a socialist country. Sounds like a Manchurian Candidate to me. Maybe he will pretend to be a far right wing nut so that far right wing nuts will be fooled. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/16 "2015-03-24T14:15:06Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I admit, it makes no sense to me, why he can run and a naturalized citizen can not. Honestly, the whole “natural born” citizen crap should be stricken anyway. It should be “citizen, who has lived in the US for X years”. X being a lot of years for President. Possibly. But it made perfect sense at the time. Very embarrassing to fight a war for independence and then have the (still-substantial) loyalist voting bloc elect George II as president. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/17 "2015-03-24T15:45:34Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > So his father is from a communist country and he was born in a socialist country. Sounds like a Manchurian Candidate to me. Maybe he will pretend to be a far right wing nut so that far right wing nuts will be fooled. No, no. He was born in Alberta. That means his political mileau moved slightly _left_ when his family moved to Houston. 😃 ETA - our corporate tax rate is significantly _lower_ than the US corporate tax rate. So who you calling socialist, eh? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/18 "2015-03-24T16:01:09Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > When the Constitution was written there was a serious fear of some foreign nobleman infiltrating the young republic’s political system and establishing himself as an absentee ruler. > > The rule can be changed by amendment but nobody’s really that interested in doing it. Passing constitutional amendments is a lot of work. Part of the problem with this particular change is that it will never pass when it appears that it is intended to benefit a particular person who is presently viewed as a possible presidential candidate. When there is no such person, it is treated as a non-issue not worth the trouble of correcting, although there will probably be some prominent naturalized citizen on the political scene again in the future. The current “{Ted Cruz|Barack Obama|Ok, who’s next} isn’t a native born citizen” thing might be the best path to such a change if people get sick enough of seeing it played out repeatedly. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/19 "2015-03-24T16:26:51Z")
> [@D18](#): > > No, no. He was born in Alberta. That means his political mileau moved slightly _left_ when his family moved to Houston. 😃 > > ETA - our corporate tax rate is significantly _lower_ than the US corporate tax rate. So who you calling socialist, eh? :dubious: US corporate taxes actually paid are the lowest in the world for the richest corporations: > **[These 26 Companies Pay No Federal Income Tax](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/corporation-tax-rate_n_4855763)** > > These 26 Companies Pay No Federal Income Tax ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812/20 "2015-03-24T16:28:28Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > The current “{Ted Cruz|Barack Obama|Ok, who’s next} isn’t a native born citizen” thing might be the best path to such a change if people get sick enough of seeing it played out repeatedly. We can certainly hope so, but I doubt it will get any traction with Senator Nuts. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cruz-and-natural-born-citizen/715812.md?page=2)