First Amendment

Yes, the First Amendment Protects Free Speech for Noncitizens

"Freedom of speech and of press is accorded aliens residing in this country," according to a 1945 Supreme Court ruling.

Damon Root | From the April 2026 issue

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The First Amendment states that the government "shall make no law….abridging the freedom of speech." But one prominent conservative judge, whose name has been mentioned as a potential nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Donald Trump, thinks that protection against government censorship may not apply to noncitizens in the United States.

Is the judge right?

Writing for himself in the December 2025 case of United States v. Escobar-
Temal, Judge Amul Thapar of the U.S.........

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