This will be a Supreme Court decision that could end up sending Democrats to prison for encouraging illegal immigration.
Several Democrats have gone to Mexico and urged illegal aliens to cross the border even though that act is a federal crime. They claim that they are allowed to do this because of free speech.
I would be disappointed if the court does not rule it out as a free speech issue.
Imagine this.
Four terrorists have conversations about perpetrating a terror attack. They are arrested and the judge is forced to release them because SCOTUS has decided it’s free speech.
The Supreme Court will decide whether a federal law that makes it a crime to “encourage or induce” someone to enter the country illegally violates the First Amendment.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the law is unconstitutional in December 2018. The justices added the case to the docket for their forthcoming term Friday.
“The provisions here are primarily directed at conduct, not speech,” the government’s petition to the high court reads. “To the extent they even reach speech, they do so only incidentally by prohibiting communications that foster unlawful activity by particular individuals, which have long been understood to be outside the scope of the First Amendment.”
The dispute involves an immigration consultant called Evelyn Sineneng-Smith. Federal prosecutors allege that she offered to enroll illegal aliens in a Department of Labor certification program for nearly $6,000. She allegedly did so knowing that her clients were not qualified, and were therefore guaranteed rejection.
“In doing so, she not only took the aliens’ money under false pretenses, but also induced them to remain in the United States,” the government’s petition alleges.
On appeal, a three judge panel of the 9th Circuit said the law is unconstitutionally overbroad because it “criminalizes a substantial amount of protected expression.” Judge A. Wallace Tashima delivered the opinion for the panel, which Judges Marsha Berzon and Andrew Hurwitz joined. Democratic presidents appointed all three judges.