Posted on 12/04/2018 10:40:06 AM PST by Cold War Veteran - Submarines
A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down a portion of federal law that makes it a crime to encourage illegal immigration, ruling that the statute violates the First Amendment.
“Criminalizing expression like this threatens almost anyone willing to weigh in on the debate,” Judge A. Wallace Tashima wrote in his opinion for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Politico reported.
Federal prosecutors argued that the law should apply only to individuals who provide "substantial assistance" to immigrants entering or residing in the U.S. illegally, according to Politico, which noted that the law took effect before President Trump took office.
Tashima disagreed with prosecutors, saying that their reading was "strained."
“Although the ‘encourage or induce’ prong…may capture some conduct, there is no way to get around the fact that the terms also plainly refer to First Amendment-protected expression,” Tashima wrote.
A former California immigration consultant, Evelyn Sineneng-Smith filed the appeal.
Sineneng-Smith was sentenced in 2015 to 18 months in prison after a jury convicted her on tax and mail fraud charges as well as a violation of the law that the 9th Circuit Court ruled against Tuesday.
Prosecutors argued that she used her business as a scam and urged immigrants to apply for programs that had already ended or for which they were clearly not eligible.
The 9th Circuit Court upheld the other convictions of Sineneng-Smith's other crimes.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
My elder son was a Navy Nuke stationed out of Bellingham.
Please, do not misunderstand. I do not in any way, manner, or form, support what she was doing. She is at minimum a grifter, and probably far worse.
But she can verbalize her support for the illegal border crossers without going to jail.
This needs to be taken to a higher court. Applying this logic selling drugs is a first amendment right.
I agree.
As we have seen banning free speech is much more dangerous than allowing it. I have not seen those on the “Right” espousing such a ban. Every time the Left opens a Pie-Hole more outrageous statements are extruded.
I'm guessing this is the US code that was struck down?
8 U.S. Code § 1324 - Bringing in and harboring certain aliens
(a) Criminal penalties... (1)(A) Any person who... (iv)encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law... shall be punished as provided in subparagraph (B).
-PJ
“How about encouraging crimes against federal judges? That would be a 1st Amendment right, no?”
Well, there’s a lot of prior jurisprudence on questions like this. You can go pretty far in advocating for crimes to be committed before it becomes some sort of illegal incitement that crosses the line.
Say something like: “Will no one rid me of this troublesome judge?” and you are protected. Go put out a craiglist ad offering $10,000 to someone who will make a hit on him, and you are not.
Free speech is eroding through Europe now, so maybe this was just a test case. I read somewhere that the EU tries to criminalize people who speak out against immigration or open borders.
So, relooking this case.
Would it be okay with this judge if I encouraged men and boys not to put their peckers into each other’s mouths and oral cavities?
Make that “anal cavities.” Sorry correction to have to make. LOL.
Or encouraging tax evasion.
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