The First Amendment took a sharp blow when the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 to uphold a federal law that criminalizes knowingly encouraging illegal immigration. For the majority, Judge Amy Coney Barrett said the law “…forbids only the intentional solicitation or facilitation of certain unlawful acts,” and “does not prohibit a substantial amount of protected speech.” (Courthouse News Service, June 23, 2023, by Kelsey Reichmann)
American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Esha Bhandari said the court had provided somereson for optimism. “As written by Congress,” she said, “the law has left people wondering what they can safely say on the subject of immigration. Now we expect the government to respect free speech rights and only enforce the law narrowly going forward.” (NBC News, June 23, 2023, by Lawrence Hurley)