De Canas v. Bica

E26372

De Canas v. Bica is a 1976 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld a California law regulating the employment of unauthorized immigrants, holding that not all state regulations touching on immigration are preempted by federal law.


Statements (39)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case
court decision
areaOfLaw constitutional law
immigration law
labor and employment law
authorOfMajorityOpinion William J. Brennan Jr.
citation 424 U.S. 351
47 L. Ed. 2d 43
96 S. Ct. 933
constitutionalProvisionInvolved Article VI of the United States Constitution
Supremacy Clause
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1976-06-17
fullName De Canas et al. v. Bica et al.
holding California Labor Code § 2805 was not, on its face, preempted by federal immigration law at the time
Not every state enactment which in any way deals with aliens is a regulation of immigration and thus per se preempted by federal power to regulate immigration
States possess broad authority under their police powers to regulate the employment relationship to protect workers within the state
impact provided framework for evaluating state laws affecting unauthorized workers prior to IRCA
jurisdiction United States
legalIssue federal preemption
state regulation of employment of unauthorized immigrants
legalPrinciple A state law is a regulation of immigration only if it determines who should or should not be admitted into the country and the conditions under which a legal entrant may remain
States may regulate employment relationships involving unauthorized workers so long as they do not intrude into the field of immigration regulation reserved to the federal government
opinionBy William J. Brennan Jr.
parties Bica
De Canas
precedentFor analysis of when state laws affecting immigrants are preempted
relatedCase Arizona v. United States
Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting
result California statute was upheld against facial preemption challenge
stateInvolved California
stateLawAtIssue California Labor Code § 2805
subjectMatter employment of nonresident aliens not lawfully admitted for permanent residence
subsequentDevelopment later federal legislation, including the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, altered the federal-state balance in regulating employment of unauthorized immigrants
term 1975 Term
topic employment of unauthorized immigrants
preemption of state law by federal immigration law
vote unanimous decision
yearDecided 1976

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Hines v. Davidowitz
appliedIn
De Canas v. Bica ("De Canas et al. v. Bica et al.")
fullName
Arizona v. United States
relatedCase

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