Case Summary - U.S. Supreme Court (Mar. 3, 2020)

This post summarizes a criminal case from the United States Supreme Court from March 3, 2020. Kansas v. Garcia, ___ U.S. ___, ___ S. Ct. ___ (Mar. 3, 2020).  A Kansas identity theft statute which criminalizes the “using” of any “personal identifying information” belonging to another person with the intent to “[d]efraud that person, or anyone else, in order to receive any benefit” was not preempted by the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA).  The IRCA makes it unlawful to hire and alien knowing that he or she is unauthorized to work in the United States.  To enforce this prohibition, the IRCA requires employers to use a federal work-authorization form (I-9) to comply with a federal employment verification system.  The IRCA also requires that employees complete an I-9 no later than their first day of work and it is a federal crime to provide false information on an I-9 or use fraudulent documents to show authorization to work.  In addition, the IRCA limits the use of information “contained in” I-9 forms “for law enforcement purposes” apart from the enforcement of certain federal statutes and the Immigration and Nationality Act, and also contains a provision that expressly “preempt[s] any State or local law imposing civil or criminal sanctions (other than through licensing or similar laws) upon those who employ, or recruit or refer for a fee for employment, unauthorized aliens.”  The preemption provision makes no mention of state or local laws that impose criminal or civil sanctions on employees [...]