US Supreme Court examines law against encouraging illegal immigration
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[March 27, 2023]
By Andrew Chung and John Kruzel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday will consider
whether a federal law that made it a crime for a person to encourage
illegal immigration violates constitutional free speech protections in a
case involving a California man who deceived immigrants through a phony
"adult adoption" program.
The justices are due to hear arguments in an appeal by President Joe
Biden's administration of a lower court's decision to strike down the
decades-old provision, part of a larger immigration statute, as overly
broad because it may criminalize legitimate speech protected by the U.S.
Constitution's First Amendment.
In invalidating the law, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals threw out the 2017 conviction of Helaman Hansen for violating
the provision, which bars inducing or encouraging noncitizens "to come
to, enter or reside" in the United States illegally, including for
financial gain.
Hansen also was convicted of mail and wire fraud and sentenced to 20
years in prison. He is out of prison while his appeal is pending.
Federal prosecutors accused Hansen of deceiving immigrants in the United
States illegally by promising them between 2012 and 2016 that they could
gain American citizenship through an "adult adoption" program operated
by his Sacramento-based business, Americans Helping America Chamber of
Commerce.
The prosecution said Hansen persuaded at least 471 people to join his
program, charging each of them up to $10,000 even though he "knew that
the adult adoptions that he touted would not lead to U.S. citizenship."
Hansen and his program collected more than $1.8 million through the
scheme, authorities said.
In its February 2022 ruling striking down the law, the 9th Circuit ruled
that it criminalizes even commonplace speech such as telling immigrants
who are in the country illegally, "I encourage you to reside in the
United States," or advising them about available social services. The
9th Circuit upheld Hansen's other convictions and ordered that he be
resentenced.
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People walk across the plaza of the U.S.
Supreme Court building on the first day of the court's new term in
Washington, U.S. October 3, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
The 9th Circuit decision applies in the group of western states over
which it has jurisdiction including Arizona and California, which
border Mexico.
The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled
against the law in a separate case.
The Justice Department told the justices that the 9th Circuit
decision wrongly relied on "hypothetical scenarios that the statute
would not encompass." The law only targets facilitating or
soliciting criminal acts, not "abstract advocacy," it said.
Biden's administration urged the justices to restore an "important
tool for combating activities that exacerbate unlawful immigration,"
particularly because of the high volume of immigration-related
litigation and criminal prosecutions that occur in the states
covered by the 9th Circuit.
Various free speech, libertarian and press advocacy groups filed
briefs backing Hansen, urging the justices not to trust government
promises of limited prosecutions. These groups argued that the law
threatens attorneys, doctors, scholars and anyone else who speaks in
support of immigration. One press freedom group said the law already
has been used to justify the surveillance of journalists covering
the U.S.-Mexico border.
The case is similar to one that the Supreme Court heard, but did not
resolve, in 2020. A ruling is due by the end of June.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung and John Kruzel; Editing by Will Dunham)
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