Q: Hypothetical Question
Let's say that the U.S. passes a law that makes it criminal for immigrants to assist other immigrants crossing the border illegally. Would this be considered a violation of the Equal Protection Clause because its focus is only immigrants and not everyone residing in the State or is it constitutionally legal?
A:
The Fourteenth Amendment provides that
"... No State shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. ...". The Equal Protection Clause isn't a limitation on the legislative power of the federal government. So if, as your hypothetical question suggests, the United States Congress were to pass such a law, there would arguably be no equal protection problem. However, the Supreme Court held in Bolling v. Sharpe (1954) that equal protection requirements apply to the federal government through the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
If, on the other hand, a state were to enact such a law, there may well be an equal protection problem.
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