In 2022, a criminal illegal alien named Jose Paz Medina-Cantu was arrested and charged by federal prosecutors with illegal re-entry into the United States, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm. A repeat offender, Medina-Cantu had already been deported several times, but consistently made his way back into the homeland through Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ unsecured, wide open Southern Border. This time, however, he happened to bring with him a loaded Taurus PT-58.
The federal law 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(5)(A) explicitly prohibits illegally present foreign nationals from possessing firearms, with its constitutionality having been upheld and precedent set in previous court cases. Regardless of this, Medina-Cantu appealed for the dismissal of his unlawful possession charge based on his belief that the law violates his supposed Second Amendment rights. Medina-Cantu’s remarkable sense of entitlement apparently dictates that while U.S. immigration law and its restrictions may not apply to him, the benefits found in the Constitution most certainly do.
Audaciously, the criminal alien’s appeal in the 5th Circuit court argued that adequate historical analysis had not been satisfactorily applied to 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(5)(A). His appeal was inevitably struck down by the court, based on the prosecution’s apt citations of legal precedent and constitutional language; the right of “the people,” does not include illegal immigrants. The question of firearm possession among illegal aliens and its constitutionality is sure to eventually make its way to the Supreme Court, however, based on a conflicting ruling by an Illinois District Court Judge.
Obama appointee Sharon Johnson, a left-wing, liberally biased, activist judge, would generally be the last person one would suspect of “upholding” the 2nd Amendment rights of anyone. When it comes to illegal immigrants, however, it is, per usual, a different story. She ruled in favor of an illegal alien, who was similarly charged with unlawful possession, in March of this year. Based on her judgment, seeing as the foreign national, Heriberto Carbajal-Flores, was arrested under “non-violent circumstances,” his supposed constitutional liberties ought not to be infringed upon.
This obscure ruling is merely one example of many over the past 4 years of illegal immigrants being treated far better than American citizens by the ruling political class. While the Harris/Biden administration executively authors novel gun restrictions on the American people, Obama surrogates show favorability to law-breaking foreigners. In the city of Chicago, no less, where firearm ownership has been cracked down upon for decades under the guise of public safety (to no avail, of course), a non-citizen is granted free reign to exercise the constitutional liberties of the “political community,” (see Heller v. D.C.).
As avid gun enthusiasts and the Lone Star State’s premier NO COMPROMISE gun rights advocacy organization, the issue of firearm possession by illegal immigrants is noteworthily complicated here at Texas Gun Rights. Inherently, we believe that the right to bear arms is a fundamental, God-given liberty that cannot be infringed upon; however, should this liberty be applied to illegal immigrants? Should foreign nationals who deliberately break the laws of our homeland be afforded this precious right? When the question is broken down and considered from constitutional, historical, situational, and moral perspectives, it gains a substantial degree of nuance.
In short, no. The right to bear arms does not, and should not, apply to hostile, criminal foreign invaders.
From a constitutional perspective, certain legal protections can and do apply to illegal immigrants. The Second Amendment, however, should not be one of these. As dictated in Heller v. D.C., the Supreme Court case that struck down Washington D.C.’s tyrannical handgun ban, the Second Amendment applies to all members of the “political community.” Non-citizens do not fall into this category; arguing that they do would inherently mean affording them the ability to vote, seek public office, etc. Illegal immigrants are unvetted, unknown individuals who have violated federal law and whose very presence within the nation is actionably criminal. Being an American means something, it is special. Not just anyone in the world can be an American, otherwise, the title means absolutely nothing.
On that point, one very simple, but often overlooked phrase found within the Preamble of the U.S. Constitution may serve to shed light on this particular issue. Here is the full text:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
“Our Posterity.” What exactly does that phrase mean when used in the context of the Constitution? Posterity is defined as the succeeding or future generations of a collective. This collective referenced in the “our” is the founding stock of America, a unique people with a unique culture that created a new nation separate from the powers of the Old World. Posterity refers to the surviving heritage and the descendants of those who founded, settled, and fought for the independence of these United States. That is who the Constitution was primarily written for, and for whom the Second Amendment is primarily meant to apply.
America at its founding embodied specific values and cultural traits that culminated the best of Western Civilization. These superior cultural aspects differentiated the United States, allowing it and its people to thrive and grow into the strongest and most prosperous nation in the world. This culture, however, inherently cannot be separated from the people of whom it was cultivated by and their “posterity.”
When one considers the dichotomy between the “first world,” and the “third world,” a realization can be found that what we in the first world consider to be the third world is, in reality, simply the natural state of humanity. To put simply, as Hans Herman Hoppe characterized: “nasty, brutish, and short.” America is different, and it is special in that the people of America are binded by the specific values of Christianity. While not everyone in America practices the religion, and certainly not at the same rates that the Founders and their kin did, the lasting effects are ever-present. In this, America enables the flourishing of a free society, separate from the brutal state of nature much of the world still finds itself in.
The second ever President of the United States, John Adams, is quoted as saying “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” These attributes stated by Adams are necessary for a free society to be sustained. Alongside these words, Adams warns that the U.S. does not possess a government capable of contending with the more primal vices of humanity that arise from a lacking of morality and religion, and predicts that the Constitution would crumble in their absence. He was correct.
Although it has certainly altered, the American people have been able to maintain this unique differentiation; and, despite constant attacks on its very existence, the Constitution stands strong thanks to its most ardent defenders. When, however, the third world is imported into the United States, and its contradictory culture alongside it, the nation morphs into something completely unrecognizable from its original intent. Furthermore, when this foreign culture takes advantage of Constitutional freedoms, such as that of the Second Amendment, without the prerequisite virtue of the American people, the prophecies of John Adams begin to manifest.
This is not to say that foreigners cannot respect our laws, assimilate, become American citizens and enjoy the freedom that the United States has to offer. They can, and they often make the best Americans that exist. However, when one’s very first action is to break the law, violate the national sovereignty of the United States, and make themselves an unknown criminal invader, the same opportunities must not be applied.
That final point edges into the contemporary situational context of the United States. With maliciously inept leadership in the federal government, America’s Southern Border has been ravaged by hordes of third world nationals pouring into the heartland. Coming from crime-ridden countries with unsatisfactory moral standards, gang members, cartel members, and even known terrorists have infiltrated the United States alongside individuals who, while they may be searching for a better life, are violating national law with their very first interior action. The identities, histories, and backgrounds of these characters is entirely unknown, and estimates have shown that hundreds of thousands of criminals, including rapists and murderers, have been allowed into the United States by Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.
Unfortunately, normal Americans have been forced to reap what their federal government has sown, with individuals like Laken Riley and Jocelyn Nungaray falling victim to the violent tendencies of some of these unvetted individuals. To universally apply the constitutional protections of the Second Amendment to these unknown characters should be considered an act of violence against the American people.
At the same time, Americans have been terrorized by a federal government that routinely abuses their constitutional liberties, and even their right to defend themselves from the manifested chaos of open border policy. Federal agencies ignore the atrocities of violent criminals while targeting law abiding gun owners. Politicians blame those same gun owners for the aforementioned atrocities, and they are used by the media to promote total disarmament.
The Second Amendment must be defended and secured at all cost for the American people, with no tyrannical restrictions, infringements, or barriers. The same rules, however, simply cannot and must not be applied to criminal, third world nationals who deliberately violate U.S. law and siphon the benefits of a free society with little contribution. Constitutional and historical precedent support this position, as does logical inference on the current domestic situation.
Texas Gun Rights serves as the Lone Star State’s premier NO COMPROMISE gun rights advocacy organization, working to defend your Constitutional liberties from tyrannical government forces. Sign up for our newsletter today to stay up to date on all gun related news!
