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 their docket Friday.
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 their docket Friday.
“The provisions here are primarily directed at conduct, not speech,” the U.S. 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 named Evelyn Sineneng-Smith. Federal prosecutors allege that she offered to enroll illegal aliens in a Department of Labor certification program for nearly $6,000. They allege that she 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.
Sineneng-Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of filing false tax returns. At trial, a jury convicted her of mail fraud and inducing illegal immigration for financial gain, the law at issue before the Supreme Court.
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