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In reply to the discussion: Donald Trump: Sen. Ted Cruz ‘Perhaps Not’ Eligible for White House ‘If’ Born in Canada [View all]Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)Cruz is not in the same situation Obama would have been in if it were true that he was born in Kenya. At the time these two men were born, the law applicable to the Cruz case and to the hypothetical Obama-born-in-Kenya case (birth abroad, one citizen parent, one noncitizen parent) was that the child was a citizen provided that the citizen parent met certain conditions. One of those conditions (residence in the United States for at least five years after turning 14) was NOT met by Obama's mother, because she was only 18 at the time. Cruz's mother, however, was older and had met the residency requirement.
I believe that Cruz is a natural-born citizen based on the law at the time of his birth. If a child had been born in Kenya in August, 1961 to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. and Stanley Ann Dunham, however, that child would not have been a citizen.
Over at Free Republic, they love Cruz, but some of the extreme birthers do argue that he's ineligible to be President. Their view, which is pretty much pulled out of thin air rather than the Constitution, is that to be eligible you must have been born in the United States AND both your parents must have been U.S. citizens at the time of your birth.