US Supreme Court Leans Towards Upholding Law Criminalizing Promotion of Illegal Immigration

HI INDIA NEWS DESK
WASHINGTON,DC- The U.S. Supreme Court appeared inclined to uphold a federal law that makes it a crime to encourage illegal immigration during a hearing on Monday. The case involves a man named Helaman Hansen who was convicted of violating the law, which bars inducing or encouraging non-citizens to enter or reside in the U.S. illegally, including for financial gain.

Hansen was sentenced to 20 years in prison but is out on appeal. The law was invalidated by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in California, which ruled that the provision was overly broad and may criminalize legitimate speech protected by the First Amendment.

The Supreme Court’s conservative justices appeared to agree with the Biden administration that the law does not violate free speech protections and only targets facilitating or soliciting unlawful conduct. The liberal justices appeared to agree with the 9th Circuit’s ruling. A ruling is expected by the end of June.