In a 5-4 split decision, the Supreme Court ruled that states can prosecute illegal immigrants for stealing the IDs of American citizens.
“Allowing the States to Prosecute is Entirely With Federal Interests”
Like many recent SCOTUS rulings, the decision was split along conservative/liberal lines. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan all dissented against the majority ruling, which came down against 3 illegal aliens in Kansas who were originally prosecuted for stealing the IDs of Americans in order to work in the state. Ramiro Garcia, Donaldo Morales, and Guadalupe Ochoa-Lara, had taken the social security numbers of various American citizens.
RELATED: Trump Calls Out Liberal SCOTUS Justices On Bias Against Him
The decision overturns a ruling made by the Kansas Supreme Court on the case, which claimed that due to the overlap between federal and state law on immigration and identity theft, states do not have the right to prosecute to illegal aliens who break the law in this way.
Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch wrote in their majority opinion that “the mere fact that state laws like the Kansas provisions at issue overlap to some degree with federal criminal provisions does not even begin to make a case for conflict preemption:”
From the beginning of our country, criminal law enforcement has been primarily a responsibility of the States, and that remains true today. In recent times, the reach of federal criminal law has expanded, and there are now many instances in which a prosecution for a particular course of conduct could be brought by either federal or state prosecutors. Our federal system would be turned upside down if we were to hold that federal criminal law preempts state law whenever they overlap, and there is no basis for inferring that federal criminal statutes preempt state laws whenever they overlap. Indeed, in the vast majority of cases where federal and state laws overlap, allowing the States to prosecute is entirely consistent with federal interests.
RELATED: SCOTUS to Hear Faithless Electors Case
SCOTUS is Protecting America!
This is fantastic news! The conservative justices on SCOTUS are sticking up for the rights of Americans and stopping illegal aliens from just walking all over us. What this decision clearly shows is the important of re-electing President Trump in 2020.
While he may be gone in 2024, his appointments on SCOTUS from this term, and most likely his next one, will stay for decades to come, and continue to influence what happens to this great nation. We need a solid conservative majority on the court to keep Americans safe!