A federal judge in Illinois recently ruled that barring illegal immigrants from possessing weapons violates the Second Amendment.
On March 8, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ruled that the “noncitizen possession stature” in the U.S. Code “violates the Second Amendment as applied” to the defendant in the case, Hariberto Carbajal-Flores.
The defendant was charged with violating the law, which makes it illegal for an individual “who, being an alien, is illegally or unlawfully in the United States” to have a firearm. In June 2020, Carbajal-Flores was arrested in Chicago, Illinois, for possessing a handgun.
Coleman indicated that Carbajal-Flores “received and used the handgun for self-protection and protection of property,” having had no felony convictions.
In her ruling, Coleman, appointed by then-President Barack Obama, cited the 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen made by the U.S. Supreme Court. The High Court ruled that New York officials could not prevent Americans from publicly carrying a pistol.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, appointed by Barack Obama, ruled that an illegal immigrant has the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. pic.twitter.com/QjEybXbi7V
— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) March 19, 2024
Coleman said the case “established a framework for analyzing whether a challenged firearm regulation violates the Second Amendment.”
“This Court previously held that Carbajal-Flores’ conduct is covered by the plain text of the Second Amendment … Nothing has occurred that would cause the Court to depart from its prior ruling,” Coleman wrote.
The Illinois judge previously denied Carbajal-Flores’ motion to have charges dropped against him in April 2022. She determined that the ban was constitutional and later asked the court to reevaluate the Bruen decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Coleman argued that the “Second Amendment’s plain text presumptively protects firearms possession by undocumented persons.” The judge pointed out that Carbajal-Flores has not received a criminal conviction.
“Carbajal-Flores has never been convicted of a felony, a violent crime, or a crime involving the use of a weapon,” the judge wrote. “Even in the present case, Carbajal-Flores contends that he received and used the handgun solely for self-protection and protection of property during a time of documented civil unrest in the Spring of 2020.”
“Additionally, Pretrial Service has confirmed that Carbajal-Flores has consistently adhered to and fulfilled all the stipulated conditions of his release, is gainfully employed, as has no new arrests our outstanding warrants,” she added.
