The “Natural -Born Citizen” Clause and Why Ted Cruz is Not Eligible to Be President of the United States

The United States Constitution requires that the President of the United States be a “natural-born citizen” of the United States. Although Senator Rafael Edward (“Ted”) Cruz dropped out of the Presidential race in May of 2016, his eligibility to be President remains questionable because of his birth in Calgary, Alberta Canada to a U.S. Citizen mother and non-citizen father. In other wards, was Senator Cruz a “natural-born citizen”? To answer that, one has to uncover the historical meaning of “natural-born citizen” and its more modern interpretations. Unfortunately, there is no consensus as to its precise meaning and the U.S. Supreme Court has not directly confronted the issue. I conclude that Senator Ted Cruz is not eligible to be President of the United States. To reach this conclusion, I explore British common and Parliamentary law as it was familiar to Framers of the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Of primary importance is the British common law concept of jus soli, which means “right of soil” as the basis of British citizenship. I also look at the drafting and adoption of the U.S. Constitution in light of prevailing British law and subsequent attempts at naturalization legislation by the U.S. Congress. Finally, I discuss the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and relevant U.S. Supreme Court cases in order to glean further understanding of the “natural-born citizen” clause.