On 8 January the court of appeal in San Francisco affirmed that, according to the Law on gun control, acquisition and possession of weapons by illegal immigrants is a crime.
The panel of three judges rejected the appeal of Victor Manuel Torres, who illegally entered the U.S. from Mexico in 2005, was arrested in 2014 for possession of a gun and sentenced to 2.5 years. Lawyer Adam J. Torres. Gasner, said that after his release from prison, he faces deportation.
In its appeal, Torres said that the law violated his constitutional right to own firearms. According to the Second amendment, «all people in the USA have the right to keep and bear arms.» But the judges unanimously came to the conclusion that the constitutional right can be limited when it is a direct order of Congress.
According to the court, in the case of illegal immigrants, the law helps prevent crime and ensures public safety. Judge emphasized that illegal immigrants are difficult to control because they often falsify information about themselves and evade law enforcement. Attorney Torres believes that this is wrong, and illegal immigrants cannot be prosecuted for a criminal offence only because they kept the weapon for self-defense or other private purposes.
