SPRINGFIELD – Two objections to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz being on Illinois' March 15th Republican primary ballot were quietly tossed out Monday while the rest of the world was focused on Iowa and their primary caucuses.
Two Illinois citizens argued that because Senator Cruz was born in Canada, he was not a "natural born" citizen, as candidates for the presidency are required to be by the U.S. Constitution.
The Illinois objections drew the attention of GOP candidate Donald Trump, who has been raising the question of Cruz' eligibility.
The State Board of Elections ruled Monday that although Cruz was born in Calgary Canada, his mother was a U.S. citizen living in Canada at the time of his birth. Therefore, Cruz is a "natural born" citizen because being born – even outside the U.S. borders – to a U.S. citizen did not require him having to go through the naturalization process to be considered a legal American citizen.
One objector – Lawrence Joyce of Poplar Grove, IL – represented himself in the hearing, and the Cruz campaign's points were argued by Murphysboro attorney Sharee Langenstein.
In her arguments on Cruz' behalf, Langenstein referred to historic correspondence in 1787 between U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Jay and President George Washington in which Jay suggested that the Constitution include a prohibition against "foreigners" from attaining the position of Commander in Chief.
"The Framers in no way intended to exclude a U.S. citizen at birth from holding the office of President, simply because of where he or she happened to be born. After all, that individual is not a 'foreigner,' but rather a U.S. citizen from birth," Langenstein wrote.
Indeed, she argued, "John Jay would certainly not have held such a view, considering that when he wrote this letter to Washington, he was serving abroad as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and had fathered three children abroad. Surely Jay did not believe his own children were 'foreigners' constitutionally inelgible to hold the office of President."
The Board wrote in its opinion, "… Ted Cruz was born in Canada to a mother who, at the time of his birth, was a U.S. citizen. Ted Cruz became a nautral born citizen at the moment of his birth because it was not necessary to become a citizen through the naturalization process at some point after birth."
And then wrote, "Further discussion on this issue is unnecessary."
Donald Trump says that the Democrats will sue Ted Cruz over Cruz not being a natural born citizen and at the same time running for president.
“If he gets the nomination, they’re going to sue his ass up,” Trump told a crowd of supporters here on Tuesday.”
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/02/politics/donald-trump-ted-cruz-canadian-birth/index.html
Would that be a good idea on the part of the Democrats? Won’t that lawsuit open up a can or worms for them? Won’t it drag Obama into a cesspool none of the elite want to see?
As I understand it, Cruz’s position is based on the fact he was born of a mother who is a US citizen, even though he was born in Canada.
To defend his position Cruz could call into question Obama’s birth documents. We know Obama was born of a mother who was a US citizen, but what proof is there that Obama was born in the United States, if the copy of the birth certificate the White House gave to the press is in fact shown to be a forgery?
Many experts dispute the COPY of the president’s so-called PDF document released by the White House. Sheriff Joe Arpaio claims he has evidence that the Obama document is forged. The sheriff is also a staunch supporter of Donald Trump. Beyond that document, there are Obama’s sealed college transcripts and his disputed Social Security number.
Remember, “…in a radio interview broadcast…Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio affirmed he is ‘pretty well convinced’ President Obama’s birth certificate, as released by the White House in 2011, is a ‘fraudulent, fake document…I’ve been in law enforcement 55 years,’ stated Arpaio. ‘I think I know a fraudulent, fake document. I’m not a computer expert. I rely on my people. But I’m pretty well convinced it’s a fake document.’” It’s important to recall, too, that “Trump and Arpaio both have claimed Obama’s birth certificate may be forged.”
http://www.wnd.com/2015/07/sheriff-joe-affirms-obamas-birth-certificate-fake/#bikA9Gc4ulXFccD8.99
Senator Cruz could ask the court for all the Obama birth documents and show by expert testimony that these documents are fraudulent (not hard to do, given what we know about the PDF given to the press by the White House).
The argument for Cruz being a NBC could be very simple. There is no conclusive proof that Obama was born in the USA, and Cruz wasn’t, so Cruz is a natural born citizen by reason of only his mother’s citizenship. Just like Obama. If Obama is a natural born citizen, then so is Cruz.
Here Cruz may get two birds with one stone. He’s on the ballot as a candidate for US president, and he has shown the public that the White House presented false documents to the voters. The birther controversy gives way to a document controversy.
The biggest reason they decided for Cruz is because had they decided against Cruz, Obama’s presidency is put at risk, and good ole corrupt Democrat Illinois will never allow that to happen.
The place of birth is unimportant, what makes a baby a natural born citizen that he/she is born to two US citizen parents, that is NBC by virtue of natural law. That is a NATURAL born citizen. Obama, Cruz and Rubio fail to meet that requirement. Regardless of the John Jay & Washington correspondence, the framers didn’t want someone with divided loyalty to be president! They wanted a president born to PARENTS(2) with an allegiance to the US. Being born to a couple where just one parent is a US citizen fails to make the child a NBC, because the completeness of their allegiance to the United States is impaired. In Cruz’s case, his father was a Cuban and not a US citizen who had an allegiance to the US.
Obama has a US Birth Cert, Cruz does NOT. Too bad stupid Bush didn’t force Obum to produce the document BEFORE he WAS THE GOVERNMENT.
The Illinois Board of Elections is an administrative body not a legal one. So its ruling is not an official, legal statement on the status of Cruz’s citizenship.
I am constantly surprised that people even think that the birth of Cruz is an issue at all. Suppose two parents were both Americans on travel and the mother goes into labor when their plane lands at an airport in a foreign country. No one would seriously argue that the baby was not an American citizen.
Mr. Engler-you, sir, are an incredible moron. We are all dumber having read your comment.
Rules for state primaries and state delegates for national office are established by the states such as the Board of Elections, not the fed and certainly not the federal courts. Even if there was something to this birther nonsense, Ted Cruz couldn’t go to the court and get a declaratory judgement… the courts have proven that they don’t want to get involved, ie) the numerous lawsuits against Obama that were all thrown out. You need to show or prove to the court that you were harmed or injured to bring a law suit. Few lawyers attempted to sue Obama for his birth status, they all were thrown out of court, and in some cases, reprimand was given to the attorneys who filed suit. Ted Cruz is, has been, and will forever be a US citizen. Now, can we talk about issues of substance?
…aaaand next up: the circular firing squad over Rubio.
Please. Stop. Take this waste of time and go talk to someone about voting FOR a Republican of your choice.
Neither Obama, Marco Rubio, or Ted Cruz are natural born citizens. At the times they were born, their Fathers were not citizens.
And a citizen is not the same as a natural born citizen. There is a reason that the framers put NBC as a requirement for being the president in the constitution instead of just a citizen.
People have been arguing Natural born for decades when all you have to do is look at the “Grandfather Clause” in the Constitution to see what it means. The Grandfather Clause was instituted with the knowledge that all American Citizens at the time of the Revolutionary War were former English Subjects so inelligible to be natural born citizens. It was also given a termination date to allow 2 generations of Americans to Grow to the elligibility age for the President for thevsame reason. The reason given by the framers was that no President should have allegiances through his parents who have strong influence on their child to another country when commenting on Natural Born. This being said, it is easy to define natural born as a born citizen of the US of whom both parents are also born citizens. Otherwise the length of the Grandfather Clause makes no sense. I know this makes Trump also inelligible because his mother was born in Scotland, but it doesn’t negate the truth. The argument used in Cruz defense in context were that both parents, who were born citizens, gave birth outside the US. So, not a valid argument.