Posting Towards Gomorrah

[Spanky]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I go off-line when I don't want to talk about substantive law that will out me. So I'll keep it more general. The First Amendment, I think you will find, applies to aliens and non-aliens alike. Only citizens get to vote, and to hold some sorts of government jobs (police officer?). All aliens get some sorts of due process protections, even in immigration proceedings relating to their attempted entry into the country. Aliens have a right to due process -- e.g., adequate notice -- in immigration proceedings. The Equal Protection Clause allows the federal government to distinguish between legal permanent residents and more transient aliens in giving government benefits. The Equal Protection Clause forbids states from discriminating between citizens and non-citizens in many types of hiring decisions and in giving government benefits.

And so on.

Of course legal alien residents in this country have rights. I am talking about Russians in Russia. Or Russians in Afghanistan. What rights do they have under our Consitution? Are you really saying that a Chinese citizen in Japan, if they are mistreated by the US embassy in Japan when applying for a visa, they have a constitutional right to have a hearing?