What's keeping Ted Cruz from renouncing Canadian citizenship? Is his mom actually American?

[snagglepuss]

Believe it or not, it looks like Sen. Ted Cruz is still a Canadian citizen. Although it has now been over a month since he promised to renounce his Canadian citizenship – which he obtained by virtue of his birth in Calgary, Alberta – there has been no indication (whether press release, statement or otherwise) announcing that he has followed through on the commitment

Cruz’s website is silent on the subject, his official biography doesn’t even mention the word “Canada,” and I received no response to repeated email requests for additional information. My telephone inquiry to Cruz’s press office produced only an email that repeated his statement of future intention, as first issued on Aug. 19: “I will renounce any Canadian citizenship. Nothing against Canada, but I’m an American citizen by birth and as a U.S. senator, I believe I should be only an American".

snip


So what's keeping Ted Cruz from finally renouncing his Canadian citizenship?

There is one section (in the Canadian form required to renounce Canadian citizenship), however, that could cause Cruz some trouble, and perhaps that is the reason for his delay. Question 5 instructs the applicant to “attach proof” that he is (or will become) a citizen of a country other than Canada. That may seem like it is none of Canada’s business, but in fact the requirement follows from important principles of international law – including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – which call upon governments to protect individuals from becoming stateless. Of course, Canada’s requirement of proof was not established with U.S. senators in mind,..."

snip

In order to fulfill his promise to the voters, Cruz must therefore submit proof that he is a U.S. citizen, which will be trickier for him than for most people. Cruz has thus far released only his Canadian birth certificate, which confirms that he was born in Calgary, Alberta, in 1970, and additionally states that his mother was born in Wilmington, Dela. The second part is crucial – Cruz’s only claim to U.S. citizenship through his mother – but it is also hearsay. The birth certificate is primary evidence of Cruz’s own birth, but the entry about his mother merely records her assertion to the Alberta Division of Vital Statistics. Even though I don’t personally dispute what he says, “My mother said so” is not what is usually meant by “proof.






http://www.salon.com/2013/09/20/ted_cruzs_origins_continue_to_haunt_him/




















In order to fulfill his promise to the voters, Cruz must therefore submit proof that he is a U.S. citizen, which will be trickier for him than for most people. Cruz has thus far released only his Canadian birth certificate, which confirms that he was born in Calgary, Alberta, in 1970, and additionally states that his mother was born in Wilmington, Dela. The second part is crucial – Cruz’s only claim to U.S. citizenship through his mother – but it is also hearsay. The birth certificate is primary evidence of Cruz’s own birth, but the entry about his mother merely records her assertion to the Alberta Division of Vital Statistics. Even though I don’t personally dispute what he says, “My mother said so” is not what is usually meant by “proof.

[malaise]

1. Same knife stick sheep

stick goat - bring it on birthers.

[Turbineguy]

2. He likes the Canadian Health care system?

[Nay]

10. Well, he can't legally use the Canadian health care system because

1. he has not been a resident of Canada for the past 3 months, and

2. he does not have a Canadian Social Insurance Number (at least to my knowledge, since he has seemed befuddled that he was even a Canadian citizen)

[Historic NY]

3. Carnival Cruz, the BAGGER King....

maybe thats why he is unfamilar with "Merican" History.

[City Lights]

23. "Carnival Cruz" - LOL!

I hope that name spreads!

[PDJane]

4. Shedding your Canadian Citizenship is a long process.

It takes about 8 months, a security check, and some other hoops. It's not as easy as writing a letter saying 'go to hell.'

[Nay]

8. Actually, it is fairly easy. As a Canadian and a US citizen, I'm pretty

intimately familiar with Canada's immigration/citizenship web site (cic.gc.ca).

The form to renounce your citizenship is only 4 pages long, with the last page as the signature page. It basically asks who you are, how you became a Canadian citizen, and who your parents are. The fee is $100. Processing time is about 4 months (that's pretty short, considering that most other processing times are 6 months to a year).

What you need to demonstrate in order to renounce your citizenship:

To renounce your Canadian citizenship using this application you must:

not reside in Canada;
be a Canadian citizen;
be a citizen of a country other than Canada, or show that you will become a citizen of a country other than Canada, if your application to renounce is accepted; (see #1 below)
not be a threat to Canada’s security or part of a pattern of criminal activity; (see #2 below)
be 18 years of age or older; and
understand the significance of renouncing your Canadian citizenship.(see #3 below)

1. You have to prove you are a citizen of another country in order to renounce Canadian citizenship because there are laws prohibiting a country allowing any individual to become a 'stateless person.'

2. A quick background check (AFIS-type) will be conducted on you to make sure you aren't renouncing citizenship just in order to escape prosecution in Canada for illegal activities.

3. You have to be mentally competent enough to renounce -- I assume this is Canada's way to protect dementia patients, developmentally disabled, etc.

Now, Cruz may certainly have trouble proving he is a US citizen if his parents didn't procure the relevant US documents at the time of his birth. It's still up in the air whether he can produce those documents, but as I mentioned in an older thread, IF his mother gave birth to him in Canada AFTER she lived in the US for a total of 10 years after she was 14 yrs old, THEN Cruz is automatically a US citizen. What has been squirrelly about this whole thing is that he doesn't seem to have on hand a form called a 240, a State Dept document issued by embassies that is "Documentation of Foreign Birth of a US Citizen." His parents may have overlooked this because it is NOT required, but is recommended, that parents acquire this doc for the purpose of, say, getting him into school in the US. If he wanted to, he could apply TODAY for that document if he can produce the proof needed, so why hasn't he?

So, how has Cruz proved, throughout his life, that he is an American citizen? He went to school, college, worked jobs, acquired a US passport, became a congressman, etc., and never had to produce proof of citizenship? How did that happen? The rest of us have had to produce such documentation multiple times in our lifetimes. No one has explained this oddity, to my knowledge, and that's what needs to be investigated.

I suspect that Cruz has not begun the renunciation of his Canadian citizenship because of my #1 above -- he's having trouble proving he is a US citizen. But I don't get that, either -- a US passport should be enough proof, unless Canada requires something else.

[snagglepuss]

15. Thanks for the informative post. This may sound strange but if he is a dual citizen maybe

he wants or has been advised to keep his dual citizenship so that he can run for election in Canada at some point in the future. He is the kind of Conservative that neocons in Canada want.

[SummerSnow]

5. He's keeping his Canadian citizenship...

cause after they allow him to fuck up the US, he can run back home

[Bonhomme Richard]

6. Because maybe he is a Canadian Manchurian Candidate sent

here to topple the United States government. Just a thought.

[Nay]

9. If so, I welcome our Canadian overlords. It's gotta be better than being screwed by

teabaggers.

[LuvNewcastle]

7. Cruz is younger than I am? That's strange, he seems so much older.

I guess the GOP does that to a person.

[snagglepuss]

11. So true but I don't understand why questions about his citizenship

isn't getting more attention.

[former9thward]

12. Because it is all BS and people know it.

Cruz is a citizen, Obama is a citizen, McCain is a citizen, all constitutionally qualified to run for and be president. The media and political people are tired of the silliness and have moved on.

[Nay]

22. If he is a naturalized citizen, he is not eligible to run for president. The only

proof he has offered as to his US citizenship is his passport, which is not proof of natural-born citizenship. If he runs for president, he'll have to come up with an F-240 or some other State Dept. documentation that his birth falls under the category of US citizen born on foreign soil.

See my longer post on this below. It's not a done deal, but he is probably a natural-born citizen under the rules. It's just very curious (and very Republican) for him to think and act like the shitstorm that was rained down on Obama for being born in Hawaii (!!) by teabaggers should not also be rained down on him, especially since his circumstances are NOT as clear-cut as Obama's were.

[City Lights]

26. It would get all kinds of attention if Cruz were a Democrat.

The GOPee is the party that makes a stink about absolutely everything.

[roamer65]

13. I wish I could have dual citizenship.

USA and Canada.

Last time I read, as a native born American, I would have to renounce American citizenship to become a citizen of Canada.

[snagglepuss]

14. The question is whether in fact Cruz has dual citizenship? To prove he is a dual

ciitizen he has to prove his mother is American and that remains an open question.

[Nay]

17. Actually, since it has been reported that he has a US passport, it can

be assumed that he IS an American citizen. What is problematic is the nature of his citizenship. How, exactly, did he prove he was a citizen in order to get that passport? What document did his parents produce? Why can't he produce that document (or a replacement, if the original was lost) today?

Citizenship from birth through his mother DEPENDS upon her having been a US citizen from birth(or had been naturalized before his birth) AND having resided in the US for a certain number of years in toto and a certain number of years BEFORE his birth. He is not automatically a US citizen because his mother is a US citizen. Because he was NOT born on US soil (as Obama was), certain laws pertaining to his mother's US residency apply. They did not apply to Obama because he was not born in a foreign country.

I assume that if this jerkwad ever has the temerity to run for president, someone will did into this, but who the fuck knows in this political climate.

[treestar]

19. Still he has to produce a certified copy of that passport

If he has it, he had to provide his BC and his Mom's BC and maybe evidence of her living in the US the requisite number of years.

[Nay]

27. Well, of course, this is the point of my several posts here. His possession of a

passport or a copy of his passport is totally irrelevant. It proves nothing, except that he is some type of legal US citizen.

He has produced his birth certificate. It is a Canadian birth certificate, proving only that he is a Canadian citizen, and thus also irrelevant to anything we are talking about, except to make one wonder how he acquired US citizenship.

THAT is the question if he wants to run for Prez, because only natural-born US citizens can run. Naturalized citizens cannot run. He doesn't have to prove he's a US citizen -- he is. He has to prove he's a natural-born one, according to the State Dept. rules at the time of his birth. The rules at that time required that certain US residency times be met by the US citizen parent at the time of his birth in order for the child to be automatically considered a US citizen from birth. That has never been addressed, to my knowledge.

[kestrel91316]

30. Here's the rub: there is not one shred of evidence that Ted Cruz is anything other than a

NATURALIZED citizen who is hiding his naturalization papers.

There is ZERO evidence that his mom was actually born in the US. There is only hearsay as to that.

The document that citizens have to file if they have a child born abroad is what is needed to prove he is a natural born citizen. I doubt such a document exists.

[Nay]

38. Exactly. There is no evidence that he is anything other than

a naturalized citizen. That's what's so suspicious and weird.

The document for a child born abroad is an F-240, issued generally by the local US embassy or the US State Dept. It is not required for parents to get this form at birth of their child, but it is recommended because this would be the document the child would need when back in the States to prove citizenship in order to attend school, etc. Even today, Cruz could apply to the State Dept. for his F-240 and he'd get one, if he could prove his mother was an American citizen at the time of his birth AND she, as a US citizen, had spent at least 10 years in residence in the United States, 5 of which must have taken place after she was 14 years old. All 10 years' residency must have taken place before she gave birth.

In order to prove he is a natural-born US citizen in the absence of an original F-240, Cruz must produce:

1. His mother's US birth certificate OR her US naturalization papers. She must have been naturalized BEFORE his birth.

2. Proof that she had fulfilled the US residency requirements detailed above.

First, it is odd that he and his parents cannot produce the original documents, whatever they were, that got Cruz his first US passport at age 14. How the hell did he get that passport?

I suspect there is no original paperwork for any of this. I also suspect Cruz would have trouble establishing that his mother fulfilled the residency requirements. I further suspect that he has been using only his US passport, the first of which he claims to have been issued to him at age 14, for any and all proof of US citizenship in his adult life. It is a perfectly good proof for that use, but it is worthless for establishing whether he is a natural-born citizen.

As I've said on many threads on this subject, there are very real questions that need to be answered if this nutbag is contemplating a Presidential run. The fact that the whole subject seems to have been buried is curious in itself.

Is his mother still alive, does anyone know? Even if she isn't, Cruz, as her son, can get her birth certificate from her birth state just by requesting it. Why hasn't he at least done that? He's a fuckin' senator -- he could call up the relevant state office and get a certified copy of it overnighted to him in DC, if he wanted to. It's just all very, very, very weird.

[treestar]

33. By the standards set by the most idiotic birthers

Cruz cannot be a natural born citizen. The worst birthers claimed that having one parent who was not a citizen was enough to knock a person out of natural born categorization. Thus Obama Sr. being Kenyan disqualified Obama.

[Nay]

16. Not true. You can hold dual citizenships of US and Canada. I and a few others

on this board do. Neither country prohibits dual citizenship.

[roamer65]

25. Interesting.

I'll have to look into it.

[treestar]

18. Produce the long form vault copy of Mom's BC now, Cruz!!!!

[jwirr]

20. I love it when Ed Schultz calls him the Canadian senator. There does seem to be a question of his

loyalty to our country.

[kelliekat44]

21. I wouldn't be surprised if he had some financial or tax benefit by holding Canadian citizenship.

Maybe an off-the -American shore account somewhere? A foreign business with huge tax breaks? Worth an investigation, heh?

[lame54]

24. What's keeping Canada from renouncing Ted Cruz?

[B Calm]

28. I hope the press picks up on this!

[snagglepuss]

32. Exactly. There is something fishy about his not renouncing foreign citizenship.

This story needs to be investigated.

[joeybee12]

29. Irony is great...the birthers' biggest hero is himself a non-citizen...knr

[SDjack]

31. Orly Taitz: "It's basically the same issue as Obama has."

Perhaps she can make a birth certificate for Ted's mother.

[treestar]

34. If she said that, at least she is consistent.

Consistent in the crazy is still consistent.

[SDjack]

36. Oops ! Should have given the link. Here it is:

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2013/08/19/birther-orly-taitz-ted-cruz-has-basically-the-same-issue-as-obama

[Nay]

37. Did Orly say that? If so, she further proves her own idiocy. Obama

is a natural-born citizen because he was born in Hawaii. Period. Even if both his parents were from Kenya, if they birthed him in Hawaii, then he is an 'anchor baby' (a natural-born US citizen) just like the ones all the haters hate. You know, the Mexicans who pop across the border to have their babies just in order to make them US citizens by birth.

[winter is coming]

35. Now don't go getting our hopes up. n/t

[BlueCheese]

39. So I guess the Obama birthers might not be motivated by racism after all.