The Supreme Court Has Made a New Ruling on Illegal Immigrants and Guns

Supreme Court of the United States

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Coming to the country without any documentation is a crime. It's called being an illegal immigrant. This means that these people are not allowed to own guns or ammunition.

The Washington Times reports that in a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court has recently made a ruling that if a person is in the country illegally and didn't know they were illegal, they can't be prosecuted for owning a gun.

So, how could someone be in the country illegally without knowing they are illegal?

Do you remember the Dream Act?

If a person is brought into the country as a baby and their parents never told them he was illegal as he grew up, he would have no idea that he doesn't belong here.

While explaining the decision, Justice Stephen Breyer stated, "Without knowledge of that status, the defendant may well lack the intent needed to make his behavior wrongful. His behavior may instead be an innocent mistake to which criminal sanctions normally do not attach".

The Supreme Court came to this decision when dealing with the case of Hamid Rehalf. Rehalf came to the United States from the United Arab Emirates on a student visa. He was "academically dismissed", but claimed he didn't know he had lost his visa with this dismissal after he had been "found in possession of ammunition".

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. is one of the voices of dissent.

He stated, "A great many convictions will be subject to challenge threatening the release or retrial of dangerous individuals whose cases fall outside the bounds of harmless-error review".


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content