Posted on 02/25/2020 7:29:46 AM PST by yesthatjallen
Today the Supreme Court will hear oral argument on whether a federal statute that criminalizes any person who encourages a non-citizen to come to, or reside in, the United States, should be struck down. If the court holds that the law can stand, the impact could be devastating and far-reaching — potentially criminalizing legal advice by immigration attorneys and the written and spoken words of immigrant advocates and activists.
The chilling effect it would have on non-citizens and their allies would be profound and especially insidious in this political moment of increasing, and increasingly nefarious, anti-immigrant sentiment.
This case centers around the activities of Evelyn Sineneng-Smith, who ran an immigration consulting business in California serving mostly Filipino immigrants in the health care industry. Sineneng-Smith promised she could provide a pathway to lawful status for these non-citizens through eligibility in a labor certification program. Though Sineneng-Smith knew that they weren’t statutorily eligible for this program, she took their money anyway, and over the course of seven years accumulated millions of dollars in legal fees. In 2010, Sineneng-Smith was prosecuted, and later convicted, of mail fraud, among other charges.
Among these additional charges, she was convicted under 8 USC Section 1324, a 1986 law, added through the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), that makes it a federal crime to “encourage” unauthorized immigration. The statute reads:
“Any person who ... 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).”
SNIP
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
I wish this could happen here in Canada. Scumbag lowlifes these immigration lawyers.
“The chilling effect it would have on non-citizens and their allies would be profound and especially insidious in this political moment of increasing, and increasingly nefarious, anti-immigrant sentiment.”
The more chilling the better.
Sounds like it's already criminal. How interesting.
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