After the U.S. Supreme Court issued, at the end of June, a bombshell ruling upholding birthright citizenship, far-right Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was quick to condemn the decision as a “travesty.” But according to Notre Dame law professor Derek T. Muller, that condemnation is a major flip-flop from what Cruz said about birthright citizenship back in 2011.
U.S. President Donald Trump, after returning to the White House, issued an executive order declaring birthright citizenship illegal. But the High Court struck down that order as unconstitutional, with conservative Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett (a Trump appointee) joining Democratic-appointed Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan in agreeing that birthright citizenship is protected by the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
In a June 30 post on X, formerly Twitter, Cruz angrily wrote, “Today’s decision regarding birthright citizenship is a travesty. The Fourteenth Amendment was written to overturn Dred Scott and guarantee citizenship to freed slaves — not to create automatic citizenship for the children of those who violate our immigration laws or are only temporarily in the United States. This decision will only invite further exploitation of our immigration system. The Court adopted an interpretation that departs from the original meaning of the Constitution and incentivizes illegal immigration. Congress retains the authority to clarify federal law, and it should act immediately to restore the original meaning of the Citizenship Clause and protect the integrity of American citizenship.”
But Muller, on X, pointed to an “alternative take from Ted Cruz, 2011.”
The Notre Dame legal scholar linked to a video of Cruz defending birthright citizenship without hesitation in 2011, the year before he was elected to the U.S. Senate. At that point, Cruz was best known for his years as Texas solicitor general.
Cruz himself is an immigrant and a Latino. Now 55, he was born in Calgary, Canada on December 22, 1970 — and his father, the late Raphael Cruz Sr, was originally from Cuba. The U.S. senator’s full name is Raphael Edward Cruz Jr.
When Cruz was asked if the U.S. should “allow birthright citizenship,” he responded, “I have spent my professional career defending the Constitution…. The 14th Amendment provides for birthright citizenship. I’ve look at the legal arguments against it, and I will tell you, as a Supreme Court litigator, those arguments are not very good. As much as someone may dislike birthright citizenship, it’s in the Constitution. And I don’t like it when federal judges set aside the Constitution because their policy preferences are different. And so, my view: I think it’s a mistake for conservatives to be focusing on trying to fight what the Constitution says on birthright citizenship.”
The Cruz flip-fop that Muller highlighted is drawing a lot of reactions on X.
Arizona Republican Stephen Richer tweeted, “gotta start audition for Alito’s spot?” — a reference to speculation that Cruz could be nominated for the Supreme Court if Justice Samuel Alito retires.
Attorney Sean Marotta commented, “Ah, but what about true-blue MAGA judges like James Ho? Surely, he couldn’t be in favor of birthright citizenship.”
Attorney Sean Silverman posted, “@SenTedCruz, you might be able to save yourself from a claim of hypocrisy by explaining exactly when and why your opinion changed. Any explanation?”
Never Trump conservative David Schmidt wrote, “No one should ever accuse Ted Cruz of having enduring principles.”
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