Illegal Immigration Laws
by attorney Elliott Alhadeff of
(recently retired LA prosecuting attorney of nearly 30 years and currently inactive)
Date:
Subject: The solution to Illegal Immigration is .... simple
Here's the law:
1. No government entity can prohibit an officer from reporting an illegal alien
Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State or local law, a Federal, State, or local government entity or official may not prohibit, or in any way restrict, any government entity or official from sending to, or receiving from, the Immigration and Naturalization Service information regarding the citizenship or immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of any individual. (See 8 U.S.C. section 1373(a), emphasis added)
2. It illegal to be an illegal or to help an illegal alien in this country
Title 8 USC Section 1324. Bringing in and harboring certain aliens
(a) Criminal penalties
(1)(A) Any person who -
(iii) knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation;
(iv) encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law; or
(v)(I) engages in any conspiracy to commit any of the preceding acts, or
(II) aids or abets the commission of any of the preceding acts, shall be punished as provided in subparagraph (B).
(B) A person who violates subparagraph (A) shall, for each alien in respect to whom such a violation occurs -
(i) ...in the case of a violation of subparagraph (A)... (iii), or(iv) in which the offense was done for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain, be fined under title 18, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both;
(ii) in the case of a violation of subparagraph (A)...(iii), (iv), or (v)(II), be fined under title 18, imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both ..
3. In addition, 8 U.S.C. 1324(c) provides specific authority for local law enforcement agencies to enforce immigration laws.
Authority to arrest.
No officer or person shall have authority to make any arrests for a violation of any provision of this section except officers and employees of the Service designated by the Attorney General, either individually or as a member of a class, and all other officers whose duty it is to enforce criminal laws. (See also, People v. Barajas, supra., section 1324(c) authorizing state and local enforcement 1005-1006)
The Law