Court: Illegal Aliens Don’t Have 2nd Amendment Rights

Judges across the country have ruled over the years that illegal immigrants have certain constitutional rights in the U.S., but a federal appellate court has drawn the line with the Second Amendment, which interestingly is the topic of heated discussions lately.

The case involves a Mexican national, Nicolas Carpio-Leon, arrested and charged for entering the country illegally, using a fake Social Security to obtain a driver’s license and owning two guns. Carpio-Leon has lived in Orangeburg South Carolina for more than a decade and has three American-born children (anchor babies).

It was a slam-dunk case for the feds when they indicted him last year; an illegal immigrant using a fake identity in possession of a .22 caliber Marlin rifle, a 9 millimeter Hi-Point pistol and ammunition. Hiding behind the Second Amendment right to bear arms, Carpio-Leon claims he’s entitled to keep the firearms to protect his kids and home.

In a court motion, he argues that the constitution also applies to illegal immigrants, that they too have the right to keep guns in their homes for their families’ protection. The Second Amendment could not possibly have excluded illegal immigrants, Carpio-Leon asserts in his motion, because when it was enacted “attitudes toward immigration were the reverse of today’s attitudes.”

This laughable argument was slammed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which notes the constitutional right to bear arms has always been reserved for law-abiding, responsible citizens. This would automatically exclude those who violate U.S. immigration laws. Therefore illegal immigrants are not covered by the Second Amendment since they are not law-abiding citizens, the court says.

In fact, when it comes to the Second Amendment, the Virginia-based appellate court put illegal aliens in the same category as felons convicted of violent crimes. “Thus, the Second Amendment does not guarantee the right to possess for every purpose, to possess every type of weapon, to possess at every place, or to possess by every person,” according to the decision which has been posted by an online publication that covers legal matters.

It’s not uncommon to see illegal immigrants suing over the violation of their constitutional rights in U.S. courts, especially the Fourth Amendment because it involves racial profiling and illegal searches by police. Another popular one is the First Amendment, which has been repeatedly used by open-borders activist to fight laws prohibiting day laborers from congregating in public places.