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The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that makes it illegal to encourage illegal immigration, ruling that it does not stifle First Amendment speech.
The 7-2 decision is a victory for enforcement advocates and preserves a key tool prosecutors use to go after migrant smugglers and other fraudsters who prey on naive illegal immigrants.
Immigration activists had argued the law was too broad, and could be used to snare charities working to ease the plight of illegal immigrants, or even family members who allow a relative to remain with them even though the person is here illegally. In legal terms, their claim is what’s known as an “overbreadth” challenge.
The court said those kinds of worries may be real, but said that’s not a reason to strike down the entire law because it also captures some clearly criminal conduct as well.
“Hansen asks us to throw out too much of the good based on a speculative shot at the bad. This is not the stuff of overbreadth,” wrote Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
The case stemmed from the 2017 conviction of Helaman Hansen, who falsely told illegal immigrants he could get them on the path to legal status through adult adoption.
