In a groundbreaking and highly controversial decision, Obama appointed U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ruled that the Second Amendment rights of noncitizens who enter the United States illegally are protected under the Constitution.
The case, U.S. v. Carbajal-Flores, centered around Heriberto Carbajal-Flores, an illegal immigrant found in possession of a handgun in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood on June 1, 2020. He was charged with violating a federal law prohibiting noncitizens not legally authorized to be in the U.S. from possessing firearms.
Judge Coleman, an Obama appointee, initially denied Carbajal-Flores’ motion to dismiss his indictment in April 2022, deeming the ban constitutional.
However, following the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) and appellate decisions in the Third and Seventh circuits, Carbajal-Flores requested a reconsideration of the ruling.
Obama appointed judge rules Illegal immigrant can carry GUN.
Illinois US District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman has ruled that an illegal alien had his “2nd Amendment rights violated when he was charged for possession of a weapon.”
Heriberto Carbajal-Flores was charged by… pic.twitter.com/3f49HMf7XI
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) March 20, 2024
Upon review, Judge Coleman determined that Carbajal-Flores’ illegal status alone was not sufficient to deny him Second Amendment rights. “The plain text of the Constitution presumptively protects firearms possession by undocumented persons,” she wrote.
The judge emphasized that Carbajal-Flores had never been convicted of a felony, violent crime, or crime involving a weapon, and claimed he used the handgun solely for self-protection during a period of civil unrest in 2020.
The court found insufficient evidence to suggest Carbajal-Flores posed a risk to public safety, concluding that “as applied to Carbajal-Flores, Section 922(g)(5) is unconstitutional.”
This decision has sparked debate among gun rights activists, with some arguing that noncitizens should not be afforded constitutional rights.
Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America (GOA), acknowledged the mixed feelings within the Second Amendment community, stating, “While illegal aliens are most certainly not part of ‘the People,’ everyone has a God-given right to defend themselves against violent acts like rape and murder.”
Pratt also criticized the Biden administration and the Democratic Party for not securing the nation’s borders, suggesting that such cases would not require court intervention if immigration policies were more stringent.
