Immigration-Related RICO Suit Dismissed
The Associated Press (Dec. 14) reported that a federal judge on Wednesday tossed out a southwest Idaho county’s lawsuit against local employers accused of hiring illegal immigrants – an attempt to recoup money the county says it has spent on the workers. The judge said Canyon County’s claimed higher expenses for social services such as indigent medical care, schools and jails were simply the costs of being a government entity. The judge dismissed the case with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled. The lawsuit marked the first time a government tried to use the federal Racketeering and Corrupt Organizations Act to demand damages from businesses for the costs of allegedly illegal employees.
The Supreme Court recently granted cert in a similar case.
KJ