Summary
The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of an indictment for illegal reentry under 8 U.S.C. § 1326, holding that the defendant failed to prove that Congress enacted the statute with discriminatory intent against Mexicans or other Central and South Americans, as required for a Fifth Amendment equal protection challenge. Applying the *Arlington Heights* framework, the court found that the historical evidence—including the 1952 INA's legislative history, Congress's override of President Truman's veto, and the use of the term "wetback" in a DOJ letter—did not establish that racial animus was a motivating factor, and that the district court clearly erred by relying on disproportionate impact and the discriminatory intent of a prior 1929 Act without requiring proof that the 1952 Congress acted with invidious purpose. The court declined to decide whether a more deferential standard applies to immigration laws, as the claim failed even under the usual *Arlington Heights* test.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether 8 U.S.C. § 1326 violates the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment because it discriminates against Mexicans and other Central and South Americans.
Holdings
- Carrillo-Lopez did not carry his burden of proving that Congress enacted § 1326 because of discriminatory animus against Mexicans or other Central and South Americans. The district court clearly erred in finding that discriminatory purpose was a motivating factor.
Key quotations
“Because Carrillo-Lopez did not carry his burden of proving that § 1326 was enacted with the intent to be discriminatory towards Mexicans and other Central and South Americans, and the district court erred factually and legally in holding otherwise, we reverse.”
“The most important evidence of legislative intent is the relevant historical evidence.”
“There is no requirement that the government show that a subsequent legislature 'somehow purged the 'taint'' of a prior legislature, such as by expressly disavowing the earlier body's discriminatory intent.”
Factual background
Gustavo Carrillo-Lopez, a citizen of Mexico, was removed from the United States twice (1999 and 2012). After 2012, he reentered the United States. In 2019, a search of his residence uncovered firearms and drugs. He pleaded guilty to trafficking a controlled substance. He was then indicted for illegal reentry following prior removal in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326, with enhanced penalties due to prior convictions.
Procedural history
The district court granted Carrillo-Lopez's motion to dismiss the indictment, holding that 8 U.S.C. § 1326 violates the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment because it was enacted with discriminatory purpose against Mexicans and other Central and South Americans. The government appealed.