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Originally Posted by Simon W. Moon  Parts are construed as applying to to people in the US regardless of nationality. Other parts are more specific |
Exactly. Parts of the constitution apply to all "persons" while others just apply to "citizens." A good example of this: Art. 1 § 3
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No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.
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From this, you can tell that the term "person" is meant to be broader than "citizen"
Looking at the 14th Amendment, there's this:
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All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
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This means that everyone born in the US is a citizen and that those citizens have certain priviliges and immunities that shall not be abriged. However, non-citizens still are guaranteed due process and equal protection.