PIERRE, S.D. -  Attorney General Marty Jackley announced today he has joined a 14 state coalition of Attorneys General in filing an amicus brief in the case of Colorado v. Fuentes-Espinoza, with the United States Supreme Court. The brief argues the federal Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) does not preclude states from enacting legislation to prohibit human smuggling.  

“Human smuggling is a nationwide issue that reaches families and communities in every state,” said Jackley. “We have an interest in combatting those who prey upon every child. A child’s immigration status should not be immunity for sexual predators and human smugglers.”

The brief argues that the states, as well as the federal government, have a compelling interest in protecting immigrants, their families, and the community at large from the exploitative and dangerous practices of human smugglers and the harms caused by their large-scale criminal networks. Because the state statute does not involve direct regulation of immigration or control of the national border, it does not violate the INA.

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