The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case of a California man who claims he has a First Amendment right to make money off false promises of a path to citizenship for immigrants. The Ninth Circuit appeals court ruled that the federal laws were overbroad and violated the man’s free speech rights. The federal government is arguing that Congress’ power to enforce immigration laws must be supported by power to prohibit encouraging someone to violate the laws. (USA TODAY, December 9, 2022, by John Fritze)
The government said the man, Helaman Hansen, promised immigrants they could achieve citizenship by enrolling in an “adult adoption” program and got over 471 people to join, charging them each up to $10,000. (Reuters, December 9, 2022, by Andrew Chung)