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No. 96-1142

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Mourad Abu Remileh, *

*

Petitioner, *

* On Petition for Review of an

v. * Order of the Immigration and

* Naturalization Service.

Immigration and Naturalization *

Service, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Respondent. *

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Submitted: October 25, 1996

 Filed: October 30, 1996

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Before McMILLIAN, FAGG, and BEAM, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

Mourad Abu Remileh, a Palestinian in the United States on a

nonimmigrant student visa, petitions for review of an order adopting an

administrative law judge's summary judgment that Remileh violated 8 U.S.C.

§ 1324c(a)(2). We deny the petition.

Section 1324c provides for the assessment of civil penalties against

individuals who knowingly engage in acts of document fraud for the purpose

of satisfying any requirement of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8

U.S.C. §§ 1101-1524 (1994). The regulations implementing the Act require

employers physically to examine documents verifying a new employee's

identity and eligibility to work in the United States. 8 C.F.R.

§ 274a.2(b)(ii) (1996); see 8 U.S.C. § 1324a. Conversely, to be legally

employed in the United States, an alien must be authorized to work and must

provide valid documents to an employer to verify eligibility. See 8 C.F.R.
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§ 274a.12. 

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) alleged Remileh

violated 8 U.S.C. § 1324c(a)(2) by using the birth certificate of his

cousin, a United States citizen, to obtain employment at a Minnesota

amusement park. Remileh admitted he applied for the job using his cousin's

name, and used his cousin's name and social security number on the INS

employment eligibility verification form, which Remileh completed before

starting work. On the same form, Remileh also swore he is a United States

citizen. Although the form states certain verifying documents must be

provided, Remileh did not present the documents when he signed the form and

his employer did not immediately request them. Instead, when Remileh went

to the payroll office for his first paycheck two weeks after starting his

job, Remileh's employer asked for documentation. In response, Remileh

brought in his cousin's birth certificate, which Remileh had altered to

reflect his own birth date.

In this petition for review, Remileh contends summary judgment was

inappropriate because there is a genuine issue of material fact about his

intended purpose in presenting the altered birth certificate. Remileh

claims that because the immigration law requires employers to review

verifying documents within three days after an employee starts work,

Remileh did not know his employer wanted the birth certificate to confirm

his eligibility for employment, and thus, it is unclear Remileh presented

the false birth certificate for the purpose of verifying his eligibility.

We conclude there is no genuine issue of material fact precluding

summary judgment. The mere existence of some alleged factual dispute does

not defeat summary judgment if the dispute is not "genuine," meaning a

reasonable jury could not find for the nonmoving party. Anderson v.

Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). Summary judgment should not

be denied simply because
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issues of motive or intent are involved. Meister v. Georgia-Pacific Corp.,

43 F.3d 1154, 1159 (7th Cir. 1995).

In this case, a reasonable jury could only conclude Remileh knew his

employer wanted the documentation for immigration purposes and presented

the altered birth certificate to verify his eligibility to work in the

United States. The employer's two-week delay in asking for documentation

does not matter under the circumstances. Even if Remileh's motive for

adopting his cousin's identity only at his job was Remileh's fear of the

Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas, Remileh's reason for showing the

altered birth certificate to his employer was to verify his eligibility to

work. 

We deny Remileh's petition for review.

A true copy.

Attest:

CLERK, U. S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.