The Supreme Court ruled recently that states can legitimately target illegal immigrants with identity theft without interfering with federal immigration law.
The high court ruling will essentially give states more leeway when it comes to going after illegal immigrants using identity laws.
The case concerned undocumented immigrants in Kansas who used false or fraudulent social security numbers in order to secure jobs.
The state of Kansas prosecuted the individuals using identity theft laws.
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The Supreme Court ruling–like most of its recent rulings–broke down among party lines, with the five conservative justices siding with Kansas and the four liberal justices dissenting.
“To let the States prosecute such people … is, in practical effect, to let the states police the [matter]. And policing the [matter] is what (federal law) expressly forbids,” Justice Stephen Breyer said in his dissent.
In general, federal law and authorities are responsible for enforcing immigration law with state authorities acting in as a supplement to that federal enforcement.
This ruling heavily blurs that line and gives states much more power to go after undocumented workers, which could have a huge effect on policies that limit state enforcement of immigration law such as sanctuary cities.
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