Ozcelik, the defendant knew that the
individual remained in the U.S. illegally and advised him to
``lay low'' and ``stay away'' from the address he had on file
with the government. 527 F.3d at 100. However, Mr. Ozcelik
did not actively attempt to intervene or delay an impending
immigration investigation and the Third Circuit held that
advising an individual without legal status to stay out of
trouble and to keep a low profile does not tend substantially
to facilitate their remaining in the country. Id. at 100-01. The circuit court reasserted that shielding or harboring a
person without status ordinarily includes affirmative conduct
such as providing shelter, transportation, direction about
how to obtain false documentation, or warnings about
impending investigations that facilitates a person's
continuing illegal presence in the United States. See Id. at
99. In United States v. Silveus, the Third Circuit held that
cohabitation, along with reasonable control of premises
during an immigration agent's inquiry regarding the
whereabouts of the suspected undocumented individual, does
not constitute harboring without sufficient evidence that a
defendant's conduct substantially facilitated the
individual's remaining in the U.S. illegally and prevented
authorities from detecting his/her unlawful presence. 542
F.3d at 1002-04. In this case, the agent never saw the
suspected undocumented individual, but only heard the
apartment door slam, heard some bushes break, and as he
approached, saw the defendant shut her front door. Id. at
1002. The defendant spoke to the agent through her window and
when asked if anybody had run out of her apartment, she said
``I don't know.'' Id. at 1003.
Keywords matched
immigration undocumented