We don't have time to discuss this in class (and there is a course that deals specifically with immigration issues), but here is the basic outline:
State Laws
"State and local laws that discriminate on the basis of alienage are...generally deemed to involve a suspect classification and are thus subject to strict scrutiny." Ides and May Book.
However, state laws that discriminate against illegal aliens are generally subject to rational basis review. Id. However, "the Court has been willing to apply a standard of review that is more searching than rational basis review to at least some state laws that discriminate against undocumented alien children." Id.
Federal laws
Because of the constitutional responsibility of Congress to regulate alienage, "federal laws that discriminate against aliens" are generally "reviewed under a rational basis standard." Id.
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