摘要: A remarkable feature of the United States Constitution is the paucity of refx~\. erences to citizenship as a condition of rights, other than in the context of the franchise and eligibility for office. The Declaration of Independence had declared that" all men are... endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights." The Constitution and the Bill of Rights recognize and guarantee the rights of" persons," whatever their political affiliation. During two hundred years the commitment of the United States to the universality of rights has not diminished. All of the provisions of the Bill of Rights: the prohibition on slavery in the Thirteenth Amendment; the guarantees of life, liberty, and property, subject to due process of law; and the requirement of the equal protection of the laws in the Fourteenth Amendment apply to all" persons," whether or not they are citizens of the United States. The United States, though founded on immigration, has nevertheless long insisted on the" inherent and inalienable right of every sovereign and independent nation" to control the entry and removal of nonnationals. 1 But with small exceptions in respect of political rights, persons lawfully admitted to the United States (and in many respects even those illegally in the country) enjoy the protections of the Constitution.The universal character of United States constitutional rights has been an example to other countries. The United States has also actively sought to promote the idea and to infuse it into international law. With European powers it has helped develop the" international standard of justice," the so-called standard