Pundit Post

Both citizens and non-citizens of the United States have unalienable, constitutional rights.

As a citizen of the United States you are promised the right to:
1. Freedom to express yourself.
2. Freedom to worship as you wish.
3. Right to a prompt, fair trial by jury.
4. Right to vote in elections for public officials.
5. Right to apply for federal employment requiring U.S. citizenship.
6. Right to run for elected office.
7. Freedom to pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

As a non-citizen of the United States you are protected by:
1. The First Amendment prevents the government from censoring noncitizens’ speech or suppressing the practice of their religion.
2.The Fourth Amendment protects them against unreasonable searches and seizures.
3. The Fifth Amendment ensures that noncitizens’ property can only be taken by the government for a public use, and only if just compensation is paid.
4. Should a noncitizen be charged with a crime, he has exactly the same Fifth and Sixth Amendment procedural rights as a citizen, including the right to a jury trial, the right to counsel, and protection against self-incrimination.
5. If convicted of a crime, the Eighth Amendment prevents the government from subjecting aliens to “cruel and unusual punishment” in exactly the same ways as it does with citizens.

1. You can say no if police ask permission to search you or your things.
2. You can leave unless being detained or arrested. If being arrested or detained you have a right to know why and speak privately to a lawyer.
3. You can only be strip searched by officers in private of the same sex.
4. You have a right to know an officers name and badge number.
5. You can report officers who abuse you, swear at you, or violate your rights.