III. ELIGIBILITY OF VARIOUS UNITED STATES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
[Read Part I. REQUIREMENTS TO BE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES]
After reading the writings and testimony of the Founders and Signors of the United States Constitution, the words of Emmanuel de Vattel, the evidence surrounding the creation of the 14th Amendment, and the findings of the United States Supreme Court, amongst other evidence, a reasonable thinker can determine what is the definition of a Natural Born Citizen, as such term relates to the United States Constitution. In order to be a Natural Born Citizen for purposes of eligibility to the Presidency of the United States, and in conformity to the United States Constitution a Person must:
- Be born in the United States of America, or be born in lands that are Territories of the United States or under its Sovereignty; AND
- Be born to parents, both of whom were United States Citizens at the time of the birth of such Person.
An opponent of this very clear definition of who qualifies to be a Natural Born Citizen may argue that the US Constitution is a “living document”, which must be interpreted according to changing experiences and circumstances. Some issues that did not exist at the time the United States Constitution was created, are present now today.
However, this conceptions held by “Living Constitutionalists” only have merit in addressing limited issues when analyzing the United States Constitution. For example, the United States Constitution prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures”. Does this prohibition restrain a drone peering in the open window of a homeowner? Does this prohibition restrict surveillance planes that scan for infrared activity, without physically entering the domain of the occupant of a dwelling, in order to detect a marijuana grow house? These technologies were not contemplated in the late 1700s.
The Living Constitutionalist may argue that the United States is increasingly part of a global economy, and today has a large immigrant population, many of whom would be ineligible for the Presidency, based upon a definition of Natural Born Citizen, as defined by Emmerich De Vattel, and other natural law proponents.
Such an argument in fact bolsters the arguments of the natural law thinkers that the President today must have primary and unquestioned allegiance to the United States, and to no other foreign Sovereign.
In the 1700s, there were many forces outside the United States, mostly found in its former oppressor, in England, determined to destroy the sovereignty of the new republic. Today, there are probably much more formidable forces, proponents of both globalism and the diminution of the sovereignty and independence of the United States, determined to achieve their ends.
The forces towards globalism and weakened State sovereignty, more than perhaps any time in the history of the United States, require that Natural Born Citizen be defined in its most restrictive manner.
To weaken the requirements for a person to qualify as a Natural Born Citizen, because of the modern goals of globalism, and vanishing borders favored by some, is directly treasonous to the principles promulgated by the United States Constitution and the United States Constitution itself. Such a conception is an affront to the United States Constitution, the principles held by Emmerich de Vattel, of the sovereignty of States, natural law, and the intentions of the founding fathers.
A Natural Born Citizen can only be a person who is born in the United States, or its Territories, and is born to two parents, both of whom were Citizens of the United States at the time of the birth of the party in question. Equipped with this definition, the determination of the eligibility of numerous persons to the Presidency is quite simple.
A. SENATOR TED CRUZ
Is Ted Cruz a Natural Born Citizen of the United States?
Ted Cruz’s father is Rafael Benvenido Cruz, who was born in Cuba and came to the United States, in 1957, preceding the military coup of Fidel Castro, in 1959. The elder Cruz obtained Political Asylum in the United States after his four year Student Visa expired.
The father of Ted Cruz became a Canadian Citizen in 1973.
In a National Public Radio interview in 2013, the father stated he obtained Canadian citizenship during the time that he and his wife, Eleanor Elizabeth Wilson, worked in the oil industry in Alberta, Canada. The father further stated that he did not become a United States Citizen until 2005.
Ted Cruz was born in Calgary, Canada, on December 22, 1970, to a mother who was a United States Citizen, and a father who was a Cuban Citizen. The parents of Ted Cruz worked and lived in Canada for three years preceding the birth of Ted.
Ted Cruz became a Senator, representing the State of Texas, in November, 2012. Senator Ted Cruz declared himself to be a Candidate for President of the United States on March 23, 2015.
Ted Cruz is not eligible to be the President of the United States because he was born in Canada, and his father was not a United States Citizen. Only the mother of Ted Cruz was a United States Citizen. Ted Cruz is a Citizen by Naturalization, by Act of Congress. Ted Cruz is not a Natural Born Citizen.
After an article in the Dallas Morning News was published in 2013, attesting that Ted Cruz was a dual Canadian-United States Citizen, the Senator responded that he was unaware of such status, and took measure to renounce his Canadian Citizenship. Senator Cruz finalized the renouncement on June, of 2015.
An article posted in American Thinker, dated January 10, 2016, titled, “Yes, Ted Cruz Is A Natural Born Citizen”, cites Jonathan Adler, who teaches Constitutional Law, along with Administrative and Environmental Law at Case Western Law School, as writing in the Washington Post:
“Ted Cruz was born in Canada. His mother was a US Citizen. His father, a Cuban, was not. Under US law, the fact that Cruz was born to a US Citizen mother makes him a Citizen from birth. In other words, he is a “natural born citizen” (as opposed to a naturalized citizen) and is constitutionally eligible”.
Wrong.
In a poorly written Article entitled, “Is Ted Cruz A Natural Born Citizen? Ask The Founders” , by Pete Williams, published through NBC News, Williams writes:
“But the term “natural born citizen”, many scholars say, was not in common use at the time the Constitution was written. Even so, nearly every constitutional scholar who has studied the issue comes to the same conclusion: Anyone born to an American parent, no matter where in the world, is eligible to be president”.
Williams continues:
“…..what the drafters meant is based partly on a law passed in 1790 by the first Congress, providing that the children of US citizens born outside the country “shall be considered as natural born citizens”. The law is no longer in effect, but it’s considered evidence of the intent of the founders”.
The words of Mr. Williams are false and misleading at many levels.
Orly Taitz, Larry Klayman, and Mario Apuzzo, each of whom have waged numerous lawsuits contesting Mr. Obama’s status as a Natural Born Citizen, all maintain that Ted Cruz is not a Natural Born Citizen.
In a Washington Post Article titled, “Ted Cruz Is Not Eligible To Be President, dated January 12, 2016, a Mary Brigid McManamon, who is allegedly a Constitutional Law Professor at Widener University Delaware Law School writes:
“Let me be clear: I am not a so-called birther. I am a legal historian. President Obama is without question eligible for the office he serves. The distinction between the president and Cruz is simple: The president was born in the United States, and the senator was born outside of it. That is a distinction with a difference”.
Wrong. We will examine the eligibility of Mr. Obama. However, the distinction in determining who is a Natural Born Citizen is not made by where the person is born. The person must meet both the requirement of being born in the United States or its Territories, and being born of two United States Citizens.
B. SENATOR MARCO RUBIO
Marco Rubio was born on May 28, 1971 in Miami, Florida. Marco Rubio’s parents are Mario Rubio Reina and Oriales Rubio. Both of Marco Rubio’s parents were legal Residents of the United States at the time of his birth, but were not United States Citizens.
On January of 2011, Marco Rubio became a Senator representing Florida, and subsequently, a Candidate for the 2016 Presidential Election.
Marco Rubio is not a Natural Born Citizen and is not eligible to be the President of the United States, because both of his parents were not United States Citizens, at the time of his birth. Marco Rubio is a Citizen of the United States by the authority of the 14th Amendment. Marco Rubio is a 14th Amendment Native Born Citizen. He is eligible to be the Senator from Florida, and any number of other Offices, but he is not eligible to be the President or Vice President of the United States.
C. GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL
Bobby Jindal was born on June 10, 1971 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Both of Jindal’s parents were not United States Citizens at the time of Bobby Jindal’s birth, but were Legal Immigrants.
Bobby Jindal most prominently was Governor of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016, and prior was a United States Congressman. On June 24, 2015, Bobby Jindal declared his Candidacy for President of the United States.
Bobby Jindal is not a Natural Born Citizen, but like Marco Rubio, is a 14th Amendment, Native Born Citizen.
D. GOVERNOR NIKKI HALEY
Nikki Haley was born on January 20, 1972 in Bamberg, South Carolina. Her parents, who originated from Punjab, India, were not Citizens of the United States at the time of her birth.
Nikki Haley became Governor of South Carolina in 2011. She has been promoted by some as a possible Candidate for Vice President under a Republican ticket.
Nikki Haley is not a Natural Born Citizen, and ineligible to the Offices of President or Vice President. Like Marco Rubio and Bobby Jindal, Nikki Haley is a 14th Amendment Native Born Citizen.
E. SENATOR RICK SANTORUM
Rick Santorum was born on May 10, 1958, in the State of Virginia, in the United States.
The father of Rick Santorum became a Citizen of the United States in 1930 but did not receive his Certificate of Citizenship until after Rick Santorum was born, when Ric Santorum was 17 year old.
Rick Santorum served as a United States Senator, representing Pennsylvania, from 1995-2007. Mr. Santorum has sought the Presidency of the United States numerous times.
The case of Ric Santorum is less clear. Santorum is probably a Natural Born Citizen because his father acquired his Citizenship before his son, Rick, was born. The elder Santorum became a US Citizen by the initial act. The Certificate of Citizenship merely documents his Citizenship.
F. SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN
In 1936, John McCain was born at the Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone. Both of John McCain’s parents were United States Citizen, at the time of his birth.
At the time of McCain’s birth, the territory comprising the Panama Canal Zone and its military facilities were not regarded as United States Territory. However, a Congressional Statute of 1937 retroactively gave Citizenship to persons born in the Canal Zone, either on or after February 26, 1904.
A Professor Chin of Cornell Law School argues that McCain was born a Citizen of Panama and only retroactively became a Citizen, under the 1937 Statute.
There are strong arguments that John McCain is and is not a Natural Born Citizen. Although the Panama Canal Zone and its military facilities may not have been considered United States Territory, an American military base, wherever located, could persuasively be considered to be under the Sovereignty of the United States, and McCain’s parents were operating in the service of the United States Government and military.
The Congressional Statute of 1937 is irrelevant to the determination of John McCain’s Natural Born Citizen status. However, the 1937 Act could demonstrate that John McCain is a Citizen by Naturalization, by Act of Congress.
In May, 2008, the United States Senate passed a nonbinding Resolution, declaring that John McCain is a Natural Born Citizen.
G. SENATOR BARRY GOLDWATER
Barry Goldwater was born in Phoenix, on January 2, 2009. At the time of his birth, Arizona was a Territory of the United States, but had not reached Statehood.
Goldwater served as a United States Senator, representing the State of Arizona, and sought the United States Presidency in 1964.
Barry Goldwater could properly be considered to have been a Natural Born Citizen. Although Arizona was not a State at the time of Mr. Goldwater’s birth, it was a United States Territory.
H. GEORGE ROMNEY
George Romney was born in Mexico, to parents who were Citizens of the United States.
George Romney was President of American Motors from 1954-1962, and served as Governor of Michigan beginning in 1962. He sought the position of President of the United States in the 1968 Election. George Romney was also the father of Mitt Romney, a former State Governor and also a Candidate to the Presidency of the United States.
Questions were raised concerning the Candidacy of George Romney, but were never resolved, as Mr. Romney withdrew as a Presidential Candidate, before any serious contention to his eligibility was mounted.
George Romney was not a Natural Born Citizen, having been born in Mexico. George Romney was a United States Citizen by Naturalization.
I. CHESTER ARTHUR
Chester Arthur was the 21st President of the United States, having succeeded James A Garfield, after the latter’s assassination . Perhaps, influenced by the Supreme Court Decision in Minor, Arthur concealed the fact that his father did not become a naturalized Citizen of the United States, until 14 years after Chester Arthur was born. Arthur propagated a number of falsehoods regarding his father’s immigration and heritage. Chester Arthur, in addition, burned the majority of his papers and lied about his own age.
If the father of Mr. Arthur was not a United States Citizen at the time of Mr. Arthur’s birth, then Mr. Arthur was not a Natural Born Citizen.
J. BARACK H OBAMA
One of the more prominent controversies surrounding the eligibility to the Presidency of the United States concerns Barack Obama. Beginning in 2003, and continuing until 2008, there were eight attempts in Congress, all unsuccessful, to change or eliminate the Natural Born Citizen requirement. All of these attempts preceded Obama’s election to the presidency.
Many lawsuits have been brought, challenging the eligibility of Mr. Obama to the Presidency, have been Dismissed by the Courts. The most common explanation by such Courts for Dismissal were the Lack of Standing of the Plaintiffs. Lack of Standing means that the Plaintiff’s claims are too generalized to mandate a Court Order Of Relief.
According to statements provided by the Obama Administration, Barack Obama, and the birth certificate that was eventually produced, Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, to a mother who was a United States Citizen, and a father, Barack Obama, Sr., who was a Citizen of Kenya. A Native of Kenya, according to the British Nationality Act of 1948, would be a British Subject.
According to these facts, Barack Obama was born both a United States Citizen, by virtue of having been born in Hawaii, to a mother who was a United States Citizen, and a British Subject, by virtue of his father’s status as a Citizen of Kenya, and a British Subject.
If one accepts the veracity of the birth certificate supplied by Barack Obama, he is a United States Citizen, pursuant to the 14th Amendment, having been born in Hawaii, and to a mother who was a United States Citizen. However, because the father of Barack Obama, according to his birth certificate, was not a United States Citizen at the time of the birth of the junior Obama, Barack Obama is not a Natural Born Citizen.
Whether Barack Obama was born in Kenya, as numerous detractors claim, is not controlling in the determination of whether Barack Obama is a Natural Born Citizen. The Citizenship status of his father disqualifies Barack Obama for the Presidency of the United States.
Image credit: Onur Ersin; Wikipedia.com;