Also known as: alienage classification · classifications based on alienage · alienage
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A government distinction drawn on the basis of an individual's status as a noncitizen. Such classifications receive rational basis review when enacted by the federal government under its plenary immigration power and are upheld if not arbitrary or unreasonable.
Antonio Alvarado, a Mexican citizen, sued an Illinois corporation in federal court on a contract claim exceeding $75,000 while domiciled in Illinois as a permanent resident. Months after filing, Alvarado became a U.S. citizen. The court retained jurisdiction because alienage diversity is measured only at the time of filing.
Arthur Abrams, a lawful permanent resident for four years, applied for federal Medicare benefits but was denied under a five-year residency requirement. The denial was upheld because Congress may impose reasonable alienage conditions on federal benefits without triggering strict scrutiny.
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Anika Anand, a child of undocumented parents, was barred from public school under a state statute limiting enrollment to citizens and lawful residents. The classification was struck down because the state could not show a substantial interest sufficient to justify denying education to children likely to remain in the country.
Albert Allen, a lawful permanent resident, challenged a state school-financing system that produced lower per-pupil spending in districts with high concentrations of noncitizen families. The system survived review because wealth-based disparities in education do not trigger heightened scrutiny absent a suspect classification.
Ava Adebayo, a lawful permanent resident, was denied a federal civil-service position under a regulation limiting eligibility to citizens. The ban was invalidated because the agency lacked authority to impose a broad alienage restriction without a showing that the positions implicated core governmental functions.
Alexandra Armstrong, a noncitizen, was denied access to state divorce courts because she could not pay filing fees required of nonresidents. The fee requirement was struck down because it imposed an unconstitutional barrier on the fundamental right to dissolve a marriage without a sufficient state justification.
Federal alienage classifications receive rational basis review because Congress holds plenary power over immigration and naturalization. A five-year residency requirement for federal benefits is upheld if rationally related to cost control or integration goals.
Alienage jurisdiction covers suits between a state citizen and a foreign citizen or subject when the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. A permanent resident alien domiciled in the same state as the opposing party is treated as a citizen of that state, destroying jurisdiction.
Jurisdiction is determined at the time the complaint is filed. Later changes in a party's citizenship or domicile do not divest a court of jurisdiction that properly attached at filing.
…Virginia , 8 Wall. 168, 180 (1869) ("[W]ithout some provision . . . removing from the citizens of each State the disabilities of alienage in the other States, and giving them equality of privilege with citizens of those States, the Republic would have constituted little more than a league of States; it would not have…