Opinion ID: 446623
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Constitutionality of 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1304(e)

Text: 18 Ritter challenges the constitutionality of 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1304(e) which makes it a criminal offense for a documented alien to fail to carry his or her alien registration card, or other immigration documents. Ritter contends that this statute violates his fifth amendment due process and equal protection rights, and is a violation of the eighth amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. 19 Turning first to the due process and equal protection argument, it is clear that Ritter's challenge will fail because of the broad plenary power of Congress to legislate in the area of immigration and naturalization. While state laws which operate to the disadvantage of aliens are usually subjected to strict scrutiny, the power of Congress to legislate regarding aliens, while not unlimited, greatly exceeds that of the states. Mathews v. Diaz, 426 U.S. 67, 84-86, 96 S.Ct. 1883, 1893-1894, 48 L.Ed.2d 478 (1976). In Mathews, the Supreme Court noted that there are a multitude of federal statutes which distinguish between citizens and aliens, pointing out that the whole of Title 8 of the United States Code, regarding aliens and naturalization, is founded on the legality of distinguishing between citizens and aliens. 426 U.S. at 78 n. 12, 96 S.Ct. at 1890 n. 12. 20 In United States v. Campos-Serrano, 404 U.S. 293, 92 S.Ct. 471, 30 L.Ed.2d 457 (1971), the Court stated that the essential purpose of the alien registration card is to identify the bearer as a lawfully registered alien residing in the United States, and to govern the alien's activities within the country. Id. at 299-300, 92 S.Ct. at 475. The difficulty experienced at the checkpoint in trying to verify Ritter's status is an example of the type of inconvenience and delay which can easily be avoided by simple compliance with the statute. Clearly, Congress has the power to require aliens to carry identification, and such a requirement, as embodied in Sec. 1304(e), does not violate the fifth amendment. 21 Ritter's next contention, that Sec. 1304(e) violates the eighth amendment cruel and unusual punishment clause, is, also, without merit. Ritter points out that the eighth amendment imposes substantive limits on what can be made criminal and punished as such, but overlooks the fact that this particular use of the cruel and unusual punishment clause is to be applied sparingly. The primary purpose of the clause is directed at the method or kind of punishment imposed for a criminal violation. Ingraham v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651, 667, 97 S.Ct. 1401, 1410, 51 L.Ed.2d 711 (1977). 22 An example of the rare type of case in which the clause has been used to limit what may be made criminal is Robinson v. California, 370 U.S. 660, 82 S.Ct. 1417, 8 L.Ed.2d 758 (1962), in which a state law making it a crime to be addicted to narcotics was held unconstitutional because it criminalized the status of being ill. Id. at 666, 82 S.Ct. at 1420. Clearly, Sec. 1304(e) does not come within the purview of this unusual sort of case, and does not violate the eighth amendment.