Sen. Marco Rubio is reportedly entangled in a so-called “birther” controversy, alongside Canadian-born U.S. citizen Sen. Ted Cruz.
This week, Rubio’s lawyers asked a Florida judge to dismiss a lawsuit claiming that Rubio doesn’t meet the constitutional requirement for the Presidency that he is a “natural-born citizen.” His parents were not yet citizens when he was born in the United States, as The Tampa Bay Times reports.
Rubio is definitely a citizen, but that isn’t enough, says the lawsuit by Fort Lauderdale man, Michael Voeltz.
The plaintiff claims, says the Times, that “naturalized citizens… simply fail to comply with the common law Supreme Court established definition of ‘natural born citizen.’” According to the Times:
Rubio filed a motion to dismiss on Jan. 11. The 34-page filing, heretofore unknown, shows that Rubio’s legal team spent considerable time researching the issue. “Senator Rubio is a natural born citizen of the United States and he is eligible to be President of the United States,” it concludes.
… the file (which the Times independently obtained) confirmed his parents were given citizenship in 1975. Rubio at the time said he did not know why his parents waited, though experts told the Times that it wasn’t uncommon for some immigrants to wait.
The immigration dossier broke some news: It showed Rubio’s parents came to the United States in 1956, not after Fidel Castro took over, as Rubio’s his official biography noted and he repeatedly implied when talking about his “exile” parents.
“Anyone who can’t return to their natural country is an exile,” Rubio said when asked about the dates, “if you can’t return for political reasons.”
It is unclear whether the lawsuit will be tossed out or allowed to more forward.
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