Photo: OLIVER CONTRERAS/AFP/Getty Images
The United States Supreme Court agreed to listen to an attempt by the Joe Biden administration to revive a federal law that makes it a criminal offense to encourage illegal immigration after it was struck down by a lower court as part of a free speech violation.
According to the Department of Justice, Appeals Court judges erroneously relied on the First Amendment.
The judges accepted the administration’s appeal after a ruling that was overturned in February 2022 when A three-judge panel of the court overturned the conviction of a California man, Helaman Hansen, and ruled that the statute was too broad and unconstitutional.
Helaman Hansen worked with a group called Americans Helping America Chamber of Commerce (AHA) that encouraged a group of undocumented immigrants to obtain US citizenship through the senior adoption. Nearly 500 people paid up to $100,000 to the group and an investigation revealed that Hansen and the AHA received more than $1.8 million in proceeds from their victims.
Contrary to Hansen’s and AHA’s promises, adult adoption is not a means to becoming a US citizen, which is why the man was indicted, found guilty and sentenced to 240 months in prison for twelve counts of mail fraud, as well as three counts of wire fraud and two counts of encouraging or conducting illegal immigration for private financial gain.
Hansen argued, and the appeals court agreed, that the statute underlying his conviction had been too broad and that his conviction should be overturned. Justice Gould penned the panel’s decision, overturning Hansen’s conviction and declaring the statute unconstitutional.
The Ninth Circuit focused its analysis not on the facts of the Hansen or similar cases, but rather on the lack of precision in the interpretation of the lawso it is expected that in June of this year there will be a new ruling.