Opinion ID: 1457740
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: .Sufficiency of Evidence on Count Two Shielding/Harboring/Concealing

Text: In his motion for judgment of acquittal, Ozcelik argued that the government failed to prove that he attempted to conceal, harbor, or shield from detention an illegal alien. The District Court denied that motion, concluding that Ozcelik had taken substantial steps to conceal Tuncer because he told him to stay low key for 5-6 months and not to go left and right a lot. App. at 14. Ozcelik raises the same issue on appeal, arguing that his conduct, i.e., telling Tuncer to keep a low profile and not draw attention to himself, and stating that it was good that he lived at a different address than that on file with the INS, does not constitute harboring, concealing, or shielding under 8 U.S.C. § 1324. The government responds that Ozcelik's general advice to Tuncer substantially facilitated Tuncer's remaining in the United States illegally, and therefore constitutes shielding, harboring, and concealing under § 1324. The question of what conduct constitutes shielding, harboring, and concealing within the meaning of § 1324 is an issue of first impression in this court. The statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii), provides, in relevant part: Any person who ... knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation ... shall be punished.... Tuncer was an illegal alien in the United States. He testified at Ozcelik's trial that he had remained in the United States in violation of the terms of his student visa. In addition, Ozcelik did not contest that he knew that Tuncer was an illegal alien. Indeed, at Ozcelik's trial Tuncer testified that he had told Ozcelik that he remained in the United States in violation of the terms of his student visa. Thus, the only issue on appeal is whether Ozcelik's conduct towards Tuncer constituted concealing, harboring, shielding, or attempting to conceal, harbor, or shield. It is an issue that has occupied the attention of several appellate courts. The original 1907 version of the statute prohibited only the smuggling or unlawful bringing of aliens into the United States. See United States v. Lopez, 521 F.2d 437, 439 (2d Cir.1975). In 1917, the statute was amended to add concealing or harboring as a crime, but no punishment attached to concealing or harboring, only to smuggling. Id. In United States v. Evans, 333 U.S. 483, 484, 488, 68 S.Ct. 634, 92 L.Ed. 823 (1948), the Supreme Court discussed the legislative history of a prior version of § 1324, then 8 U.S.C. § 144. The Court stated that the section as originally enacted was limited to acts of smuggling. And there is some evidence in the legislative history that the addition of concealing or harboring was meant to be limited to those acts only when closely connected with bringing in or landing, so as to make a chain of offenses consisting of successive stages in the smuggling process. Id. at 488, 68 S.Ct. 634. But, the Court noted, the evidence was not conclusive regarding Congress' intent as to the construction of the then-current version of the statute; it could be construed to criminalize as a separate offense, distinct from smuggling, the act of harboring or concealing an alien remaining in the country illegally. Id. The 1917 version of the statute was at issue in Evans. Significantly, Congress amended the statute after the decision in Evans. The congressional debates focused on the necessity of a statutory prohibition for those who wilfully and knowingly conceal or harbor an illegal alien, such as those who provide shelter for aliens. Lopez, 521 F.2d at 440. Congress amended the statute in 1952 by means of Public Law 283, which applied a penalty to shielding/harboring as well as to the act of smuggling. The relevant provisions of the 1952 statute provided: Any person ... who ... willfully or knowingly conceals, harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, in any place, including any building or any means or [sic] transportation ... shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $2,000 or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both, for each alien in respect to whom any violation of this subsection occurs.... Act of Mar. 20, 1952, Pub.L. No. 82-283, 66 Stat. 26 (1952) (current version at 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii)). The legislative history suggested that Congress intended to strengthen the law in preventing aliens from entering or remaining in the United States illegally. Id. (emphasis added). The amended statute was considered by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Lopez, 521 F.2d at 437. In light of the amendment that court concluded that the statute was not limited to instances of harboring in connection with smuggling. Id. at 440-41. The court held that providing shelter, obtaining employment, providing transportation to and from work, and arranging sham marriages for illegal aliens was conduct tending to substantially facilitate the aliens' remaining in the United States illegally. Id. at 441. In a later decision, the Second Circuit announced the following test for determining what constitutes shielding, concealing, and harboring under 8 U.S.C. § 1324: harboring, within the meaning of § 1324, encompasses conduct tending substantially to facilitate an alien's remaining in the United States illegally and to prevent government authorities from detecting his unlawful presence. United States v. Kim, 193 F.3d 567, 574 (2d Cir.1999) (emphasis added); see also United States v. Cantu, 557 F.2d 1173, 1180 (5th Cir.1977) (stating that proper test is whether charged conduct tended substantially to facilitate an alien's remaining in the United States illegally) (quoting Lopez, 521 F.2d at 441). Convictions under § 1324 generally involve defendants who provide illegal aliens with affirmative assistance, such as shelter, transportation, direction about how to obtain false documentation, or warnings about impending investigations. See generally id. at 1175-76, 1180; United States v. Acosta de Evans, 531 F.2d 428 (9th Cir.1976); Lopez, 521 F.2d at 437. In contrast, we have found no cases in which a defendant has been convicted under this statute for merely giving an alien advice to lay low and to stay away from the address on file with the INS, obvious information that any fugitive would know. For example, in Kim, the defendant Kim ordered his employee, an illegal alien, to report falsely to the INS that he had been terminated from his job, and Kim required the employee to obtain false documentation for the purpose of misleading the INS. Kim, 193 F.3d at 575. The court held that Kim's conduct met the definition of harboring under 8 U.S.C. § 1324 because it tended substantially to facilitate the alien's remaining in the United States illegally. Id. In effect, Kim directed his alien-employee to obtain false documentation as a condition of retaining his employment and gave detailed direction about how to affirmatively mislead the INS. The instruction was specific and involved falsifying documents. Ozcelik's conduct here is not comparable. He merely passed along general information to Tuncer and made no suggestions regarding falsifying documents. In another case illustrating the type of conduct that falls within the statute, United States v. Sanchez, 963 F.2d 152, 154-55 (8th Cir.1992), the defendant Sanchez provided illegal aliens with apartments and immigration papers. The Court of Appeals agreed that this justified Sanchez's conviction for shielding, harboring, or concealing under § 1324. Id. at 155-56. In yet another decision, United States v. Varkonyi, 645 F.2d 453, 459 (5th Cir.1981), the defendant forcibly interfered with INS agents to prevent the aliens' apprehension. In addition, the defendant provided both employment and lodging to the aliens and assisted at least one of them to escape from INS custody. Id. It is true, as the government argues, that some activity short of providing shelter would violate the statute. In United States v. Rubio-Gonzalez, 674 F.2d 1067, 1069-70 (5th Cir.1982), several INS agents undertook to investigate whether certain employees at a Texas work site were illegal aliens. Upon entering the work area, one agent stopped Rubio-Gonzalez and asked him for identification. The identification established that Rubio-Gonzalez was a legal resident. As the agents proceeded to look for other employees, Rubio-Gonzalez sped away on his motorcycle to another part of the work site. He then began speaking loudly and making gestures towards the INS agents, telling two other individuals (later proven to be illegal aliens) that the immigration authorities were present. The two aliens then fled. Id. at 1070. The Court of Appeals held that Rubio-Gonzalez's conduct in alerting the illegal aliens to flee from investigating INS officers constituted shielding from detection within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. § 1324. [6] Id. at 1072. The court reasoned that shielding does not imply any requirement that a physical barrier of some kind be involved, nor does it imply that a trick or artifice be used. Id. In Rubio-Gonzalez, there was an immediate threat to the illegal aliens, that is, the physical presence of the INS agents who intended to apprehend illegal aliens. Rubio-Gonzalez, who had knowledge of the imminence of the apprehension, actively sought out illegal aliens and alerted them. There was a close temporal proximity between the threat to the illegal aliens and the warnings the defendant undertook to spread. In addition, the defendant's conduct was an affirmative and active response to an impending threat. In contrast, here there is no evidence that Ozcelik knew about any imminent threat to Tuncer's immigration status. Nor is there any evidence that Ozcelik actively attempted to intervene in or delay an impending immigration investigation. We agree with the Fifth Circuit that the terms shielding, harboring, and concealing under § 1324 encompass conduct tending to substantially facilitate an alien's remaining in the United States illegally and to prevent government authorities from detecting the alien's unlawful presence. Id. at 1073. We also agree that shielding does not require the use of a physical barrier, artifice, or trick. Nonetheless, we must examine whether Ozcelik's conduct fits within the statutory language as construed by the other courts of appeals. The government cites the following evidence as proof that Ozcelik tended to substantially facilitate Ozcelik's remaining in the United States. During their March 24 meeting, Ozcelik stated to Tuncer, You are not going to get involved in anything for 3-5 months in order to keep your status. Go to your work and come back home in silence, cook your food, do that only. App. at 988. Ozcelik continued, The most important thing is for you to not get involved in anything here, to not get involved in any activity. App. at 989. In a similar vein, Ozcelik said to Tuncer, That's why I'm telling you to stay away from everything for 4-5 months. Stay away from everything. Are you going to your job? Go, then come back home. App. at 992. Ozcelik also commented that it is a good thing that you've changed your address. I mean your legal address is different. You are living with a friend here. Disappear, don't tell anyone what address you're staying at. App. at 992. Later, he said, Stay away. Stay away from everything for 5-6 months.... Especially the address thing is very important. App. at 994. Ozcelik stated, [A]s I said before stay low key for 5-6 months, because you do not have any rights. App. at 996. In a later recorded telephone conversation, Ozcelik said to Tuncer, I told you, don't do anything, I mean don't go left and right a lot. App. at 999. This constitutes the totality of the evidence on which the government relies. The government argues that because Ozcelik gave Tuncer many instructions, including telling Tuncer to hide, how to hide, and to use multiple addresses to avoid detection by the authorities, Ozcelik provided counseling that violates the statute. We disagree. Instead, we view Ozcelik's comments as general advice to, in effect, keep a low profile and not do anything illegal. Ozcelik suggested that Tuncer stay out of trouble. Telling an illegal alien to stay out of trouble does not tend substantially to facilitate the alien remaining in the country; rather, it simply states an obvious proposition that anyone would know or could easily ascertain from almost any source. Moreover, Tuncer had already changed his address before he even spoke to Ozcelik. Ozcelik's comments about that fact, therefore, were irrelevant because Tuncer had already taken the action on his own accord. Holding Ozcelik criminally responsible for passing along general information to an illegal alien would effectively write the word substantially out of the test we have undertaken to apply. We decline to do so. Considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the government we conclude that no reasonable juror could find that Ozcelik's conduct tended to substantially facilitate Tuncer's remaining in the United States illegally. We therefore reverse Ozcelik's conviction under 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (Count Two of the Indictment) and will remand for resentencing. Because we reverse Ozcelik's conviction with respect to Count Two, the harboring charge, only one offense of conviction remains. Therefore, Ozcelik's contention that his two offenses of conviction should have been grouped for sentencing purposes is moot.