Yes, everyone in America is protected under the First Amendment. Once you leave the country you’re no longer protected. However, if you’re visiting here and say shit about say Myanmar, you’re not going to be protected after you leave the country. So in a way there still might be an informal form of self censureship if you’re not an American citizen. There’s also things that you can legally say that you shouldn’t. Like never use the N word if you’re not black. It might be legal to say, but you’re going to piss a lot of people off. Not being from America those unwritten rules might not be so clear. Answer from Eudaimonics on reddit.com
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Freedom Forum
freedomforum.org › home › are non-citizens protected by the first amendment?
Are Non-Citizens Protected by the First Amendment?
December 17, 2025 - Petition: A refugee from Haiti ... get TPS and simplify the process for citizenship. The Constitution does not specify whether the First Amendment applies only to citizens....
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The First Amendment Encyclopedia
firstamendment.mtsu.edu › home › articles › topic › issues › issues related to speech, press, assembly, or petition › first amendment rights of non-citizens, aliens
First Amendment Rights of Non-Citizens, Aliens | The First Amendment Encyclopedia
January 12, 2026 - First Amendment protections did not extend to noncitizens. (1987 AP Photo, used with permission from the Associated Press) So long as that same activity can be used to support the later deportation of an alien, however, resident aliens lack ...
Discussions

Does the 1st amendment apply to US citizens only or anyone in the US?
Yes, everyone in America is protected under the First Amendment. Once you leave the country you’re no longer protected. However, if you’re visiting here and say shit about say Myanmar, you’re not going to be protected after you leave the country. So in a way there still might be an informal form of self censureship if you’re not an American citizen. There’s also things that you can legally say that you shouldn’t. Like never use the N word if you’re not black. It might be legal to say, but you’re going to piss a lot of people off. Not being from America those unwritten rules might not be so clear. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/AskAnAmerican
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March 2, 2021
constitutional law - Does the part of the First Amendment about Free Speech apply to non citizens everywhere? - Law Stack Exchange
The question is very simple: does the free speech protection provided by the First Amendment apply to non US citizens and does it apply anywhere, outside US territory, protecting these people as st... More on law.stackexchange.com
🌐 law.stackexchange.com
October 26, 2019
Do non-citizens in American soil have the same rights as US citizens? Why or why not, and what are some cases where precedent was set regarding this?
If we're talking about Constitutional rights, such as those in the Bill of Rights, then yes, those apply to non-citizens. The Constitution protects persons, not just citizens. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/legaladviceofftopic
167
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January 27, 2025
Do Immigrants Have the Right to Free Speech?
The issue i see with non-citizens and free speech, is they are here by grace of the government. Subversive behavior should be grounds for deportation. I can’t see an American going to another country, begin sewing dissent, and that country being cool with it. More on reddit.com
🌐 r/FreeSpeech
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March 29, 2025
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The First Amendment Encyclopedia
firstamendment.mtsu.edu › home › case › immigrants, aliens, foreigners, first amendment rights of
Immigrants, Aliens, Foreigners, First Amendment Rights of Archives | The Free Speech Center
A federal district judge in Massachusetts ruled in AAUP v. Rubio that the First Amendment protects the speech of noncitizens, just as it protects citizens, in a case involving President Donald Trump’s efforts to revoke visas and deport certain ...
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Cato Institute
cato.org › blog › us-citizens-dont-have-first-amendment-rights-noncitizens-dont
US Citizens Don't Have First Amendment Rights If ...
April 15, 2025 - Advancing the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace.
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Quora
quora.com › Is-the-1st-Amendment-supposed-to-protect-non-US-citizens-engaged-in-illegal-activities-such-as-damaging-public-property-and-harassing-others-on-university-campuses
Is the 1st Amendment supposed to protect non-US citizens engaged in illegal activities, such as damaging public property and harassing others on university campuses? - Quora
Answer (1 of 12): The 1st Amendment doesn’t protect actual US citizens engaged in illegal activities such as destruction of property, be it public or private. It also doesn’t protect US Citizens from being charged with trespass in areas that are not considered “a public space” which is an importa...
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Gmu
lawreview.gmu.edu › home › print__issues › the second amendment and citizenship: why “the people” does not include noncitizens
The Second Amendment and Citizenship: Why “The People” Does Not Include Noncitizens - The George Mason Law Review
April 2, 2024 - One of the most vexing questions left unanswered by Heller is whether noncitizens possess this right. The Second Amendment protects “the right of the people to keep and bear arms,” but the text is unclear on who those people are.18U.S. Const. amend. II. Does the Second Amendment protect anyone physically present in the United States, regardless of citizenship status? Would a foreign terrorist like Murphy have the right to purchase a weapon? What about illegal aliens living in the United States? What about lawfully admitted non-immigrants? What about legal permanent residents? As the Supreme Court continues to consider the outer limits of the Second Amendment, it will likely have to decide whether “the people” includes noncitizens.19One issue hanging over this discussion is the consequence of the Second Amendment’s incorporation against the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
Find elsewhere
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American Civil Liberties Union
aclu.org › news › free-speech › what-the-first-amendment-really-protects
What the First Amendment Really Protects | American Civil Liberties Union
October 30, 2025 - In the 1960s, when a high school ... students don't lose their First Amendment rights in school. Non-citizens in the United States have First Amendment rights and those rights protect against punishment or retaliation (including ...
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Balls and Strikes
ballsandstrikes.org › home › articles archive › mahmoud khalil: the first amendment doesn’t protect non-citizens anymore
Mahmoud Khalil: The First Amendment Doesn’t Protect Non-Citizens Anymore | Balls and Strikes
April 15, 2025 - Rubio published an op-ed on Saturday in which he claimed that “visa holders or other aliens cannot use the First Amendment to shield otherwise impermissible actions taken to support designated foreign terrorist organizations.” And in a Monday interview on Fox News, when asked if Khalil will be deported, Stephen Miller answered in the affirmative.
Top answer
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Speech of foreign nationals is not treated the same as that of citizens.

In the case Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1, the Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of various statutory limits on campaign spending. Some parts of the law were upheld, others were overturned in 1st Amendment grounds. They upheld limits on contributions to candidates and volunteers' incidental expenses, and overturned limits on expenditures. In the decision, the court observed that

[n]either the right to associate nor the right to participate in political activities is absolute

and

"governmental 'action which may have the effect of curtailing the freedom to associate is subject to the closest scrutiny'"

The court stated that

Even a 'significant interference with protected rights of political association' may be sustained if the State demonstrates a sufficiently important interest and employs means closely drawn to avoid unnecessary abridgment of associational freedoms.

This is reasonably-standard strict scrutiny boilerplate language: what it remind you is that no Constitutionally-protected right is absolute, and all rights are subject to limitation, when that right conflicts with a compelling government interest. In the case of the federal contribution laws, that interest

is the prevention of corruption and the appearance of corruption spawned by the real or imagined coercive influence of large financial contributions on candidates' positions and on their actions if elected to office.

The court then found that

under the rigorous standard of review established by our prior decisions, the weighty interests served by restricting the size of financial contributions to political candidates are sufficient to justify the limited effect upon First Amendment freedoms caused by the $1,000 contribution ceiling.

52 USC 30121 imposes a prohibition which, if placed on US persons, would be held to violate the 1st Amendment. That law prohibits, among others,

a contribution or donation of money or other thing of value, or to make an express or implied promise to make a contribution or donation, in connection with a Federal, State, or local election

by "a foreign national", defined to not include lawful permanent residents but otherwise includes all foreign citizens and entities. The constitutionality of this law was challenged on First Amendment grounds but affirmed in Bluman v. Fed. Election Comm'n, 800 F. Supp. 2d 281 (written by Kavanaugh in his previous job), and upheld in a one-sentence affirmation by SCOTUS. So, 1st Amendment rights of foreign nationals are not protected to the same extent as those of US citizens.

It should be noted that the court also (expressly) did not decide if Congress could also constitutionally ban contributions by LPRs, or could prohibit foreign nationals from engaging in other forms of speech (issue advocacy and speaking on issues of public policy) – that matter was left undecided.

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United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 US 259 (1990), holding that the Fourth Amendment does not "appl[y] to the search and seizure by United States agents of property that is owned by a nonresident alien and located in a foreign country," may have shed some light on this issue (while by no means this is conclusive on the issue of First Amendment protection over foreigners):

... While this textual exegesis is by no means conclusive, it suggests that "the people" protected by the Fourth Amendment, and by the First and Second Amendments, and to whom rights and powers are reserved in the Ninth and Tenth Amendments, refers to a class of persons who are part of a national community or who have otherwise developed sufficient connection with this country to be considered part of that community....

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Nevada Law Journal
scholars.law.unlv.edu › facpub › 918
"Do Immigrants Have Freedom of Speech?" by Michael Kagan
This Essay explores the complicated and conflicted case law governing immigrants’ free speech rights, and argues that, contrary to the DOJ position, all people in the United States are protected by the First Amendment. Moreover, it argues that for reasons that have not been widely appreciated, ...
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Cornell Law School
lawschool.cornell.edu › home › news › immigration law panel debates “who has the right to free speech?”
Immigration Law Panel Debates “Who Has the Right to Free Speech?” - Cornell Law School
March 13, 2024 - For example, there are broad protections for individuals in the United States under the First Amendment, but if the government exempted noncitizens, there would be a chilling effect at rallies. If the police could attend and ask, ‘Who is a citizen?’ that could make noncitizens hesitant ...
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LouisianaLawHelp.org
louisianalawhelp.org › homepage › legal topics › first amendment rights
First Amendment Rights | LouisianaLawHelp.org | Find ...
Mostly, yes. The First Amendment protects everyone in the U.S., whether they are citizens, permanent residents, or visitors. However, non-citizens might face additional scrutiny in certain contexts, such as immigration proceedings.
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Harvard International Law Journal
journals.law.harvard.edu › crcl › wp-content › uploads › sites › 80 › 2015 › 07 › The-First-Amendment-after-Reno-v.-American-Arab-Anti-Discrimination-Committee-A-Different-Bill-of-Rights-for-Aliens.pdf pdf
The First Amendment After Reno v. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee:
The importance of the Fourteenth Amendment derives from its due process and equal · protection provisions, which apply to persons and which the Supreme Court has inter- preted as applying to both aliens and citizens. See, e.g., Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S.
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ACLU of DC
acludc.org › news › what-the-first-amendment-really-protects-2
What the First Amendment Really Protects
November 6, 2025 - In the 1960s, when a high school ... students don't lose their First Amendment rights in school. Non-citizens in the United States have First Amendment rights and those rights protect against punishment or retaliation (including ...
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Homework.Study.com
homework.study.com › explanation › does-the-first-amendment-apply-to-non-citizens.html
Does the First Amendment apply to non-citizens? | Homework.Study.com
This includes both legal and illegal immigrants as well as those simply visiting the country for a short period of time. Become a Study.com member to unlock this answer! Create your account View this answer · The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment does apply to non-citizens.
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Nevada Law Journal
scholars.law.unlv.edu › facpub › 996
When Immigrants Speak: The Precarious Status of Non-Citizen Speech Under the First Amendment
Although many unauthorized immigrants ... a broad claim has been made by the Department of Justice that immigrants who have not been legally admitted to the country have no First Amendment protection at all....
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Harvard Journal of Law & Technology
jolt.law.harvard.edu › digest › rojas-v-moore-immigrants-and-the-first-amendment
Rojas v. Moore: Immigrants and the First Amendment - Harvard Journal of Law & Technology
October 10, 2020 - Finally, the Court ruled in the 2001 case Zadvydas v. Davis that the federal government’s power to enforce immigration law “is subject to important constitutional limitations.” Rojas’s case illuminates the contrasting lines of precedent available to answer the question of whether non-citizen immigrants are protected in deportation proceedings by the First Amendment.
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Knight First Amendment Institute
knightcolumbia.org › blog › ice-acknowledges-first-amendment-limits-on-its-power-to-remove-foreign-nationals-1
ICE Acknowledges First Amendment Limits on Its Power to Remove Foreign Nationals | Knight First Amendment Institute
November 10, 2023 - Fourth, the First Amendment limits the government’s ability to remove lawful permanent residents and non-U.S. persons from the United States for engaging in protected speech. And fifth, the First Amendment rights of U.S. citizens to hear from and assemble with non-U.S.