Why Ted Cruz Might Not Be Eligible To Be President

After Ted Cruz announced his run for the presidency, many in the media made note of the fact that he talked about his non-citizen father who was living in Texas while he and his U.S. born mother were living in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  Well, it took just a couple of seconds for the media to also disclose that Cruz was actually born in Canada.  Thus, many questioned his eligibility to be president because it is assumed that, as stated in the Constitution, he isn't a natural born citizen.

However, those defending Cruz's eligibility misquoted federal law by stating that you are a citizen at birth -- no matter where you are born -- if at least one of your parents is a U.S. citizen. Cruz supported that belief by previously providing the media with his mother's U.S. birth certificate.

But, there's still a problem.

U.S. law states that if you are born outside of the U.S. to one or both parents who are U.S. citizens, the citizen parent or parents must go to a U.S. consulate or embassy in the country where the child was born and apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America (CRBA).  This form insures that the birth certificate isn't a fake in an attempt of circumvent our immigration laws. And, this application must be done before the child is 18 years of age.  Once the consulate/embassy verifies that birth right to citizenship, an FS-240 form will be issued as proof of citizenship.

That's the form that Cruz should have produced.  Not his mother's birth certificate. Obviously, he doesn't have that form or he would have provided it. That document is something that he should have  with him for life since it supersedes and replaces his actual birth certificate.  Yet,  Cruz, instead, produced his Canadian birth certificate in 2013:

Click on Image to enlarge

Simply, without having obtained a FS-240 before he was 18 years of age, Cruz is not a citizen by birth; and, thus, not eligible to be President of the United States.  After age 18, he can become a citizen through the naturalization process; but, still, can't be President.  Thus, proof of a FS-240 must be provided before he can even participate in the primaries.

I was unable to find out if there was a federal database to determine if a FS-240 existed for Cruz.  The only database available was from Ancestry.com and its records only span from the years 1910 to 1949.  Cruz was born in 1970.  But, what the Ancestry database proves is that the consular birth requirements existed long before he was born; just in case someone thinks the law was somehow recent and not applicable in this case.

References:

Ted Cruz - Wikipedia: https://www.google.com/search?q=calgary+alberta+canada&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Is Ted Cruz, born in Canada, eligible to run for president: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2013/aug/20/ted-cruz-born-canada-eligible-run-president/

Ted Cruz releases his birth certificate: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/headlines/20130818-born-in-canada-ted-cruz-became-a-citizen-of-that-country-as-well-as-u.s..ece

State Department: A child born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent or parents may acquire U.S. citizenship at birth if certain statutory requirements are met:  http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/abroad/events-and-records/birth.html

U.S., Consular Reports of Births, 1910-1949 - Search: http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=1664