United States v. Campos-Serrano

Possession of counterfeit alien registration receipt card held not an act punishable under 18 U.S.C. § 1546, which prohibits, inter alia, the counterfeiting or alteration of, or the possession, use, or receipt of an already counterfeited or altered "immigrant or non-immigrant visa, permit, or other document required for entry into the United States." The primary purpose of an alien registration receipt card is for identification within the United States, and its merely permissible re-entry function under an Immigration and Naturalization Service regulation does not suffice to bring the card within the coverage of the statute. There is a separate statutory provision specifically protecting the integrity of alien registration receipt cards, indicating that the Congress did not intend them to be covered by the more general language of § 1546. Pp. 295-301.

430 F. 2d 173, affirmed.

STEWART, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which DOUGLAS, BRENNAN, and MARSHALL, JJ., joined. BLACKMUN, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which BURGER, C.J., and WHITE, J., joined, post, p. 301.

William Bradford Reynolds argued the cause for the United States pro hac vice. With him on the briefs were Solicitor General Griswold, Assistant Attorney General Wilson, Beatrice Rosenberg, and Roger A. Pauley.

John J. Cleary, by appointment of the Court, 401 U.S. 990, argued the cause and filed a brief for respondent.

William J. Scott, Attorney General, Joel M. Flaum, First Assistant Attorney General, and James B. Zagel and Jayne A. Carr, Assistant Attorneys General, filed a brief for the State of Illinois as amicus curiae urging reversal.