Victor C. Romero

Interpreting the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court has generally subjected all state and local laws that discriminate on the basis of alienage to the strictest scrutiny, noting that, unlike the federal government, state entities do not have the power to regulate the admission or expulsion of noncitizens.

The extent to which the Constitution’s Bill of Rights and other political freedoms are enjoyed by noncitizens is a question that has existed since the founding of the United States.