Des Moines, Iowa — In a split decision, the Iowa Supreme Court has dismissed the identity theft case against an undocumented immigrant granted temporary legal status during the Obama Administration.
When Martha Martinez was 11, she moved from Mexico to Muscatine, Iowa with her parents. Martinez is now 30 and the mother of four kids who were born in Iowa. After President Obama’s “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” order, she obtained a Social Security number and legal residency papers. She then applied for an Iowa driver’s license, but facial recognition software indicated Martinez got a license under another name when she was 17. Martinez was charged with identity theft and forgery. She had used the fake I-D to get a job.
Four justices on the Iowa Supreme Court voted to dismiss the state’s case against Martinez. The majority ruled FEDERAL immigration laws on employment preempt state laws. However, the court’s opinion noted Martinez could be subject now to FEDERAL prosecution. They stated that “Local enforcement of laws regulating employment of unauthorized aliens would result in a patchwork of inconsistent enforcement that would undermine the harmonious whole of national immigration law.”
Three justices on the Iowa court joined in a dissent, arguing the dismissal provides an “exclusive benefit” for undocumented immigrants working in Iowa “under an alias to avoid paying taxes or cover up a criminal history.” The dissenting justices wrote, “The State is not attempting to prosecute either a failure to comply with alien registration or a mere attempt by an unauthorized alien to secure employment. The present case involves, rather, the use of a false Iowa identification to obtain the benefit of employment in Iowa.” Focusing on the fact that Martinez used a false Iowa ID, they also state that “Iowa has a legitimate state interest in the integrity of its own state-issued forms of identification and avoiding their misuse.”
In his dissenting opinion, Justice Mansfield stated that while he understands that Martinez was brought to the U.S. by her parents through no fault of her own, has lived in this country for over 20 years, just wants to make ends meet, and would not consider Mexico her home, he says that the majority’s ruling will apply to all unauthorized aliens who use a false identity to work in this state, “whether they are as sympathetic as Martinez or not.” He also wrote that the majority “quote[ed] cases out of context and paraphrase[ed] cases as saying things they don’t actually say.”
