Song U. Chon, aka The Korean v. United States

In the questions below, the reference to the “harboring statute” is a reference to 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii). The reference to the conspiring to violate the harboring statute is a reference to 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(v)(I).

1. Is a commercial hotel owner who profits by renting a hotel room to a person he knows is an illegal alien guilty of illegal alien harboring?

2. Can a hotel owner who rents a hotel room to an illegal alien possess the criminal intent to violate the harboring statute when he does not possess the knowledge, training, or authority to enforce the immigration laws?

3. Is a hotel owner required to inspect the immigration status of all prospective guests he suspects may not have a right to remain in the United States before he rents them a room?

4. Is it a violation of the harboring statute for a hotel owner to authorize his employees to rent rooms to illegal aliens or alien smugglers?

5. Can a hotel owner who rents rooms to the public rely on section 201(a) of Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a defense if he is criminally charged with conspiring to violate the harboring statute?

6. To prove a conspiracy to violate the harboring statute, must the Government prove a defendant engaged in “conduct tending substantially to facilitate the alien’s remaining in the United States illegally?