There’s been a lot of discussion here and elsewhere on Ted Cruz’s eligibility as a “natural-born” U.S. citizen. However, I don’t recall ever reading about the immigration status of the father of Cruz, who as we all know wants to deport just about anyone.
The short version of Rafael Cruz’s life story is this. Came to Cuba to study in Texas, was granted political asylum after Castro came to power, later moved to Calgary, Canada, in the 1960s, eventually opening his own company there, married Cruz’s mother and brought her to Canada, became a Canadian citizen in 1973, then abandoned Cruz’s mom and Ted in 1974, moving back to the U.S., while they remained, for awhile, in Canada.
Here’s the thing. After Castro came to power and Cruz was allowed to stay in the U.S., he became a legal permanent resident (LPR, or, popularly, “green card holder”). LPR status means you can stay in the U.S. forever, as long as you maintain a residence in the U.S. “Residence” in this case doesn’t mean a dwelling but rather a presence, physical or otherwise, that demonstrates the U.S. remains your permanent home. If you do not maintain this permanent residence, you will lose your permanent residency.
For example, say you immigrate to the U.S. from Norway. You receive your green card, live here a few years, and then move back to Norway. You get a job in Norway and decide to stay. If you do stay long enough, you’ll be deemed to have abandoned your status as an LPR, and if you try to gain admission to the U.S. as an LPR, the USCIS will take your green card away from you. (You can fight it in court; so if this happens to you at the airport, don’t sign anything and demand to see a lawyer first.)
It’s widely believed that maintaining a residence in the U.S. means that you have to visit once a year, and if you do this, you’ll preserve your LPR status. While it is true that this generally works in practice (at least for relatively short periods, like a few years or so), what really demonstrates whether or not you maintain a permanent residence in the U.S. is your intent. Do you have a home in the U.S.? Does your family live in the U.S.? Is your job in the U.S.? Is it manifest that your residence abroad is temporary in nature (even if it lasts for years)?
To take our hypothetical Norwegian LPR, for example. If he returns to Norway and buys a house (and has none in the U.S.), if his wife and kids live in Norway, if his job is in Norway, he’ll have a hard time demonstrating that he maintains a U.S. residence — even if he visits the U.S. twice a year for two weeks at a time. On the other hand, an LPR who is working abroad for several years for his U.S.-based company could probably demonstrate that his presence abroad is essentially temporary, and that he remains, in intent, a permanent U.S. resident.
Which brings us back to Rafael Cruz. He lived for many years in Canada and ran a successful geophysical consulting business there. I believe he lived there 8 years, but in any event it was long enough to obtain Canadian citizenship. For all intents and purposes he clearly had long previously relinquished his permanent U.S. residency and should have been compelled to cede his green card when he crossed over the border. (Did he use his Canadian passport to enter the U.S. from Calgary? This would have been further evidence that he had abandoned his U.S. residency.) He would have been, as those in the immigration biz call it, “214b” — an intending immigrant not in possession of an immigrant visa (IV).
Now, of course, Cruz Sr. might have petitioned for a “returning resident” IV, or his wife could have filed for an IV for him, so he eventually could have re-settled in the U.S. legally. But it certainly appears that when Rafael Cruz returned to the U.S. in 1974, he came as an illegal alien.
Why hasn’t someone asked Ted Cruz about that?