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Read about legal detention of a citizen - and more... Email your questions to: dtebaldi@tebaldiesq.com
by Demian David Tebaldi, Esq. December 27, 2006 Dear ITL: I read your column about the immigration question, and it reminded me of something I have been thinking about. I will be hiring a lawn service in the Spring, and I want to be sure that I don't hire a service that employs illegal workers. How can I verify that the workers who will be performing the lawn services are legal? Would I be breaking the law if I did not verify that the workers were legal? A.F.K. Dear A.F.K.: Section 274 274A(a)(1)(A) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides that a person commits a federal felony when he: employs or assists an illegal alien he should reasonably know is in the U.S. illegally or lacks employment authorization, by transporting, sheltering, or assisting him to obtain employment; encourages an illegal alien to remain in the U.S. by referring him to an employer or by acting as agent for an employer, or; knowingly assists illegal aliens because of personal or political beliefs. If convicted under this section, an employer is subject to criminal fines, possible imprisonment, and even forfeiture of vehicles and personal and real property used in furtherance of the crime. An employer may not remain willfully blind, either; anyone who employs an illegal alien without verifying his work authorization status commits a misdemeanor. What does this mean for the homeowner who hires a landscaping, paving or construction company that, as it turns out, is guilty of hiring illegal aliens? Absolutely nothing, provided that the homeowner does not engage in an activity which may be interpreted as a violation of one or more provisions of the INA or other laws pertaining to such activity. Now, a homeowner certainly has the right to dictate who may and may not enter his property, and for any reason; asking a contractor for proof of his workers’ identities, including citizenship status, falls well within that right. One of two things will happen: either the request will be granted and the homeowner’s concern addressed satisfactorily, or it will not. If the latter, the homeowner has the right to not use the contractor’s services. In addition, a person having knowledge of a potential violation of provisions of the INA may submit a signed written complaint to the INS office with personal jurisdiction over the business or individual.
Dear ITL: How does a case end up at the Supreme Court? F.T. Dear F.T.: A court case may end up being heard and decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in one of two ways. The first is through invocation of the Court’s original jurisdiction granted by Article III, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution. Original jurisdiction is very narrow, and includes only those cases “affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be a party.” All other cases within the federal judicial power that reach the Supreme Court do so through invocation of the Court’s appellate jurisdiction, granted by the same Article as the first type. Such cases include diversity cases (those in which the plaintiff and defendant are residents of different states), cases which may only be decided by a federal court (termed ‘federal question’ cases), and cases to which the United States itself is a party.
*Disclaimer: The answers provided in this column are not in any way to be construed as legal advice. While the author is an attorney admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the questions presented do not come from clients, but from anonymous members of various Massachusetts communities. The answers presented merely describe what the law is, and do not contain specific strategies for dealing with the situations presented. If you have questions regarding these or other legal issues, please contact Attorney Demian David Tebaldi at 508-435-5576. |
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