A federal judge has ruled that illegal aliens who have lived in the United States for nearly 20 years are not protected by the Second Amendment.
Carlos Serrano Restrepo is a foreign national currently living in Orient, Ohio, about an hour east of Springfield, and last crossed the border into the United States in April 2008. Since then, he has bought a house and started a supporting business. Repair fire and flood damage, according to WSYX.
He previously lived in Arizona, but moved to Ohio in 2022 under the Biden-Harris administration and filed for asylum a full 14 years after arriving in the United States. That application is still pending.
In 2023, the Biden-Harris Department of Homeland Security approved Serrano Restrepo's application to legally work in the United States until at least March 2025, and the Social Security Administration approved his application for a Social Security number.
“The oath of allegiance is taken through the naturalization process, not through an asylum application or long-term residence in the United States.”
During this time, Serrano-Restrepo also managed to collect a considerable variety of firearms, some of which were reportedly purchased for self-defense. At the time of these purchases, he stated on his ATF Form 4473 that he was a “citizen of the United States, was not in the United States illegally, and was not authorized to enter the United States on a nonimmigrant visa,” court documents state. has been done.
After obtaining an Ohio driver's license, Serrano-Restrepo again filled out paperwork stating that he had dual U.S. and Colombian citizenship and that he had not entered the U.S. illegally or on a nonimmigrant visa. “That's not true,” he reportedly claimed.
His purchases of at least 22 firearms and obvious lies about his citizenship on documents drew the attention of the ATF, which began an investigation.
Last January, ATF officials approx. 170 weaponsmany of which were on display in gun safes and closets, and thousands of rounds of ammunition from his residence. A grand jury was held in July, was indicted Serrano Restrepo for illegal possession of firearms by alien in the United States.
Later, his lawyers argued that even though Serrano-Restrepo is in the country illegally, he is “a member of the national community and has developed sufficient ties to the United States that he is protected under the Second Amendment.” He filed a motion to dismiss the charges. considered part of that community. ”
On Thursday, Judge Edmund A. Sargas Jr. of the Eastern District of the Southern District of Ohio denied the motion to dismiss. Citing 2022 blue en Regarding the Supreme Court's ruling that severely limits when the government can regulate gun ownership in the United States, Sargas said the United States has a history of preventing “outsider” groups deemed to pose a national security threat from arming themselves. He claimed that there was.
“When the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791, the government believed that the Second Amendment was a weapon for 'outsiders' such as Native Americans, Catholics, and Loyalists who refused to take the oath of allegiance.” It was argued that the rights of sagus wrote. “These outsiders were disarmed because they were considered a danger to public safety and social stability and were not trusted to possess firearms.”
Similarly, Judge Sargas ruled that the U.S. government had the right to restrict the possession of weapons by Serrano Restrepo, an illegal alien outsider who had never formally sworn allegiance to the United States.
“Disarming undocumented immigrants like Serrano Restrepo who has no oath of allegiance to the United States is in keeping with our country's history and tradition of firearms control,” Sargas continued. “Mr. Serrano-Restrepo's challenge as filed is without merit. The oath of allegiance is taken through the naturalization process, not through an asylum application or long-term residence in the United States.”
Serrano Restrepo's trial is scheduled to begin on January 21, 2025.
Steve Nolder, the attorney representing Serrano Restrepo, told Blaze News that his client “did not pose any danger” by collecting weapons and was “very disappointed” in Judge Sargas' decision. Ta.
Do you like Blaze News? Avoid censorship and sign up for our newsletter to get articles like this delivered straight to your inbox. Please register here!
