US Supreme Court examines law against encouraging illegal immigration

27/3/2023 19:21

        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.