Supreme Court to Hear Case on Illegal Aliens' Use of Fake IDs
The Supreme Court accepted a case on Monday that could have a large impact on the government's enforcement of illegal aliens. The case will review whether or not prosecutors have to prove that defendants knowingly victimized real persons in identity theft cases.
The case stems from an appeal by Ignacio Flores-Figueroa who is a Mexican illegal alien who used false identification to obtain a job in a steel plant in Illinois. He was convicted of identity theft and several other counts and sentenced to prison for six years.
The defendant argues that the government did not prove that he knowingly stole the identity of a real person, but three appellate courts have sided with the government. The Supreme Court is expected to resolve the dispute.
The case is related to an Iowa meatpacking plant raid back in May. Hundreds of illegal aliens were arrested in the raid, and the government is pushing those arrested to plea on lesser charges or face the more serious charge of aggravated identity theft.
The Justice Department says the Supreme Court's decision will be important because many illegal aliens don't know if their fake IDs belong to someone else. President of the Federation for American Immigration Reform Dan Stein told the Washington Post, "It would effectively gut a provision clearly designed to crack down on immigration-related identity theft."