18 U.S.C. § 1597

Unlawful conduct with respect to immigration documents

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(a)Destruction, Concealment, Removal, Confiscation, or Possession of Immigration Documents.—It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly destroy, conceal, remove, confiscate, or possess, an actual or purported passport or other immigration document of another individual—(1) in the course of violating section 1351 of this title or section 274 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324);(2) with intent to violate section 1351 of this title or section 274 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324); or(3) in order to, without lawful authority, maintain, prevent, or restrict the labor of services of the individual.(b)Penalty.—Any person who violates subsection (a) shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 1 year, or both.(c)Obstruction.—Any person who knowingly obstructs, attempts to obstruct, or in any way interferes with or prevents the enforcement of this section, shall be subject to the penalties described in subsection (b).(Added Pub. L. 113–4, title XII, § 1211(c)(1), Mar. 7, 2013, 127 Stat. 142.)

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 5 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2005–2025 · leading case: Gutierrez-Morales v. Planck

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Gutierrez-Morales v. Planck (2016) kyed “Department of Labor (“DOL”) clearance orders, and unlawful conduct under 18 U.S.C. § 1597 (a)(3) with respect to Plaintiffs’ immigration documents.”

United States v. Jimenez-Calderon (2005) ca3 “Count Fourteen charged appellant and three of her co-conspirators with commercial sex trafficking by force, fraud and coercion affecting interstate commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1597 (a)(1) and (2). On August 7, 2003, the district court sentenced appellant, inter alia,…”

United States v. Kulbir Kaur (2025) ca4 “§ 1592 ; and unlawful conduct with respect to immigration documents, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1597 . The charges stemmed from a report by the victim to federal authorities alleging Appellants brought him with them from India under the false pretense of enrolling him in school.”

United States v. Harmanpreet Singh (2025) ca4 “§ 1592 ; and unlawful conduct with respect to immigration documents, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1597 . The charges stemmed from a report by the victim to federal authorities alleging Appellants brought him with them from India under the false pretense of enrolling him in school.”

America Science Team Richmond, Inc. v. Chan (2025) vaed “§ 1592 and 18 U.S.C. § 1597 involves showing, among other requirements, that AmeriSci destroyed, “concealed, removed, confiscated, or possessed an actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification document” of…”

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