The George W. Bush administration did not hold that the Bill of Rights applies exclusively to U.S. citizens, but it did argue that non-citizens held outside sovereign U.S. territory possess no constitutional rights.

Within the United States: The Bush administration acknowledged that non-citizens residing inside the country—including undocumented immigrants—possess basic constitutional rights, such as Due Process under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

The U.S. Supreme Court repeatedly rejected the administration's absolute geographic argument in a series of landmark rulings:
• Rasul v. Bush (2004): The Court ruled that federal courts have the statutory jurisdiction to hear habeas corpus petitions from non-citizens held at Guantanamo Bay.
• Boumediene v. Bush (2008): The Court officially extended constitutional protections under the Suspension Clause to foreign detainees at Guantanamo, holding that the U.S. exercised de facto sovereignty over the base, rendering the administration's geographic exclusion unconstitutional.