Judge Rules that Illegal Immigrants Can Possess Firearms Under 2A

(BrightPress.org) – U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman in Illinois, recently ruled that banning undocumented immigrants from owning firearms is unconstitutional. The ruling pertains to the case of Heriberto Carbajal-Flores who was charged under Title 18 of the U.S Criminal Code which prohibits illegal migrants from possessing firearms or ammunition.

Carbajal-Flores claims to have owned the firearm solely for self-defense and defense of property during a time of “civil unrest” caused by the nationwide George Floyd protests in 2020. Carbajal-Flores claims he appointed himself a member of an “impromptu neighborhood watch” to protect local businesses. He was arrested for firing a weapon seven times at a passing vehicle that he claims was trying to swerve and hit another member of the neighborhood watch.

Judge Coleman initially rejected Carbajal-Flores’ claim that his rights had been violated under the Second Amendment but reconsidered, citing Supreme Court decisions made in the case of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen and Atkinson v. Garland. Using these cases to guide her, Coleman decided the provision of Title 18 that makes it illegal for a non-citizen to possess a firearm, section 922(g)(5), was unconstitutional as applied to Carbajal-Flores since he had never been convicted of a felony or violent crime and claimed to have the weapon solely for self-defense.

Carbajal-Flores has been living in the U.S. since 2002 and has “no lawful immigration status.” Judge Coleman concluded that Carbajal-Flores’ immigration status could not prevent him from possessing a firearm because the Constitution “presumptively protects firearms possessions by undocumented persons.”

Senate Intelligence Committee member Marco Rubio spoke about the ruling on “Hannity.” Rubio claims this ruling is “the left trying to blur the line” between citizens and non-citizens. He called it a “mocking” of immigration and gun laws. He believes there has to be a distinction between citizens and noncitizens or U.S. citizenship will “lose its value.”