Since he announced his candidacy for President, there has been much discussion concerning Ted Cruz' standing as a "natural born citizen" of the U.S. Rightly so, considering his history as a "birther", combined with his own birth in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
There is a document that lays all this to rest. Unfortunately, it comes down on the side of Cruz being "natural born", and therefore meeting that particular qualification to run for President. This document is the U.S. Code. Specifically, Title 8 › Chapter 12 › Subchapter III › Part I › § 1401. Paragraph "g" states:
(g) a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years: Provided, That any periods of honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or periods of employment with the United States Government or with an international organization as that term is defined in section 288 of title 22 by such citizen parent, or any periods during which such citizen parent is physically present abroad as the dependent unmarried son or daughter and a member of the household of a person
(A) honorably serving with the Armed Forces of the United States, or
(B) employed by the United States Government or an international organization as defined in section 288 of title 22, may be included in order to satisfy the physical-presence requirement of this paragraph. This proviso shall be applicable to persons born on or after December 24, 1952, to the same extent as if it had become effective in its present form on that date;
As much as it galls me, this seems to apply to Cruz in every important detail. His mother was a citizen, born and raised in Delaware, and certainly didn't move out of the U.S. before the age of 17 (satisfying the "was physically present in the U.S. for 5 years, at least 2 of those after the age of 14" requirement). As such, he qualifies as "natural born".
We should move on to actual issues with Cruz, and not get hung up on being petty (even though he deserves whatever crap the media and late-nite comedians give him, as karmic payback for being a complete douchebag with delusions of grandeur).