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I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA

300 points proberts | 2 comments | 14 Mar 25 14:39 UTC | HN request time: 0.429s | source

I'll be here for the next 6 hours. As usual, there are countless possible topics and I'll be guided by whatever you're concerned with but as much as possible I'd like to focus on the recent changes and potential changes in U.S. immigration law, policy, and practice. Please remember that I am limited in providing legal advice on specific cases for obvious liability reasons because I won't have access to all the facts. Please stick to a factual discussion in your questions and comments and I'll try to do the same in my responses. Thank you!
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fuzztail ◴[14 Mar 25 14:56 UTC] No.43363226[source]▶
I've seen recent examples of the government targeting green card holders for their speech. As a naturalized citizen who wants to exercise my free speech rights, how concerned should I be about potentially having my citizenship challenged on technical grounds? Are there realistic scenarios where this could happen despite First Amendment protections?
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SV_BubbleTime[dead post] ◴[14 Mar 25 14:58 UTC] No.43363243[source]▶
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darksaints[dead post] ◴[14 Mar 25 15:09 UTC] No.43363385[source]▶
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paxys ◴[14 Mar 25 16:47 UTC] No.43364424[source]▶
That distinction doesn't even matter. Someone can stand on Main St and shout "I love Hamas" all day and the government can (well, in theory) do nothing. This freedom applies to everyone on American soil regardless of their immigration status. The fact that people are being targeted and prosecuted by this adminstration is a complete breakdown of free speech and first amendment protections, supported by a republican congress and court system.
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jlawson ◴[14 Mar 25 18:14 UTC] No.43365478[source]▶
This is easy to say when it's someone you like, not so much when it's someone you don't.

Do you also think a foreigner should be allowed to openly advocate for Nazism while on a green card, without consequence?

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nashashmi ◴[14 Mar 25 18:21 UTC] No.43365551[source]▶
There is actually a law that prohibits advocacy of nazis while on a green card.
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1. darksaints ◴[14 Mar 25 19:07 UTC] No.43366078[source]▶
Nothing prohibiting advocacy of nazis, from what I can tell, it's for affiliation with nazis. And its an entry/approval requirement, and there is a big difference though between entry/approval requirements and ongoing obligations. The government can deny entry/approval for a myriad of reasons related to unfavorable speech, but they can't infringe on the legal speech of a green card holder.

Regardless, the prohibition for entry/approval is against people who were associated with the nazi party or nazi-allied parties between 1933 and 1945, which is basically obsolete already. Anybody for whom that prohibition applies would be 98+ years old now.

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2. nashashmi ◴[15 Mar 25 00:43 UTC] No.43368872[source]▶
Yes thanks for the correction.