Texas Senator Ted Cruz renounced any claim to Canadian citizenship late Monday amid questions about his birthplace and whether he is constitutionally eligible to be president of the United States.
Cruz, who was born in Canada, said in a statement that he is a United States citizen by birth because his mother was a U.S. citizen.
His Canadian birth certificate, however, has raised questions about whether he has dual citizenship in both countries.
His decision to renounce Canadian citizenship could be a precursor toward laying the foundation against any legal challenge to a presidential campaign.
His statement read:
"Given the raft of stories today about my birth certificate, it must be a slow news day. The facts of my birth are straightforward: I was born in 1970 in Calgary, Canada. Because my mother was a U.S. citizen, born in Delaware, I was a U.S. citizen by birth. When I was a kid, my Mom told me that I could choose to claim Canadian citizenship if I wanted. I got my U.S. passport in high school.
"Because I was a U.S. citizen at birth, because I left Calgary when I was 4 and have lived my entire life since then in the U.S., and because I have never taken affirmative steps to claim Canadian citizenship, I assumed that was the end of the matter.
"Now the Dallas Morning News says that I may technically have dual citizenship. Assuming that is true, then sure, I will renounce any Canadian citizenship. Nothing against Canada, but I'm an American by birth and as a U.S. Senator, I believe I should be only an American."