United States v. Hansen

Summary

The Court, in an opinion by Justice Barrett joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Alito, Kagan, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh, held that 8 U.S.C. §1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) prohibits purposeful solicitation or facilitation of specific unlawful immigration acts, rather than encouragement in its ordinary, broader sense. Construed this way, the provision is not substantially overbroad under the First Amendment. The Court reversed the Ninth Circuit and remanded, leaving future as-applied challenges available. Justice Thomas concurred separately, arguing that facial overbreadth doctrine lacks constitutional grounding and should be reconsidered. Justice Jackson, joined by Justice Sotomayor, dissented, arguing that the majority impermissibly rewrote statutory language that Congress deliberately broadened and that the provision should be held facially unconstitutional.