The Doctrine of Preemption and the Illegal Alien: A Case for State Regulation and a Uniform Preemption Theory

This Article is intended to explore the propriety of the rulings on section 2805 of the California Labor Code, enacted in 1971. That statute provides in pertinent part: No employer shall knowingly employ an alien who is not entitled to lawful residence in the United States if such employment would have an adverse effect on lawful resident workers. The Author argues that the threshold question in constructing a uniform preemption theory should be whether the relevant subject matter is one which is inherently federal, i.e., it involves an area of law restricted to federal control because of constitutional mandates or absolute necessity