Ninth Circuit Ruling Limits Illegal Entry Prosecutions
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit limited the scope of the government’s ability to prosecute people for illegally crossing the border, holding that only people who cross through open ports of entry without authorization—as opposed to crossing the border some other way—can be prosecuted for “eluding examination or inspection by immigration officers.” In U.S. v.
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A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit limited the scope of the government’s ability to prosecute people for illegally crossing the border, holding that only people who cross through open ports of entry without authorization—as opposed to crossing the border some other way—can be prosecuted for “eluding examination or inspection by immigration officers.” In U.S. v. Oracio Corrales-Vazquez, the court reversed a misdemeanour conviction in which the defendant, a Mexican national, was charged with eluding immigration officials although he had not crossed at a port of entry. The opinion is available here and below.
