Immigration fraud case brings tough First Amendment questions to the Supreme Court

The issue before the Supreme Court on Monday: whether a federal law that prohibits inducing unlawful immigration for financial gain violates the First Amendment. (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag)

Look at the the Supreme Court's history, and you will see a lot of cases in which odious defendants bring tough First Amendment questions. Monday's case was one of those.

The issue was whether a federal law that makes it a crime to encourage or induce illegal immigration transforms some speech protected by the Constitution into a crime.