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I'm not talking about Gitmo or illegal immigrants.Does a foreigner, say a visitor to the US, have the same rights as a US citizen? Does he have a right to a speedy trial or legal representation if he is arrested?
Amendments 5-8 don't use the term citizen so that could indicate the inclusion of foreign nationals. I have always maintained that if one is under the jurisdiction of the US they are also covered by the Const.FWIW,Wally
I agree. I got into an debate with someone on this and I said the Constitution only applies to US citizens. (some of it does, some of it doesn't). I'm wondering, though, if when a foreign visitor is arrested and taken into custody if that changes his status from a foreign visitor to a detained criminal.
... if when a foreign visitor is arrested and taken into custody if that changes his status from a foreign visitor to a detained criminal.
I'd say both; we could just send them all home but the founding fathers (brothers, cousins or whatever you like) worked from the angle that all people got their day in court. Witness JA defending the lobsterbacks after the the dust-up in Boston.Wally
I may be incorrect but I believe that the constituion and its protections only apply to those legally in the US. But I am not certain if this based on a literal reading of the document itslef or just something I have picked up. It may be that anyone on American soil is entitled to the legal protections of the constitution. That is the heart of the debate about bringing the guys at Gitmo to the mainland. They can be denied due process because they are not on soveriegn US territory.
I'm wondering, though, if when a foreign visitor is arrested and taken into custody if that changes his status from a foreign visitor to a detained criminal.
No - only when they are convicted would they be a criminal. They are protected under the Constitution - which guarantees equal protection under the law. While the Constitution does specifically state, in some cases, rights particularly for citizens, if not specifically so specified, then they apply to everyone under the jurisdiction of US laws.
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