United States v. Elder

• Decision Date: 13 February 1985
• Docket Number: Crim. No. B-84-276.
• Citation: 601 F. Supp. 1574
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America v. John B. ELDER.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Texas

601 F. Supp. 1574

UNITED STATES of America v. John B. ELDER.

Crim. No. B-84-276.

United States District Court, S.D. Texas, Brownsville Division.

February 13, 1985.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Gilberto Hinojosa, Brownsville, Tex., Daniel Sheehan, Washington, D.C., Lisa Brodyaga, Harlingen, Tex., for John Elder.

Robert L. Guerra, Asst. U.S. Atty., McAllen, Tex., for U.S.

OPINION ON MOTIONS TO DISMISS

HEAD, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

The United States accused the Defendant John B. Elder of unlawfully transporting three undocumented Salvadoran aliens in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2). Elder filed various motions to dismiss, including motions based on freedom of religion, domestic and international refugee law, selective prosecution, and estoppel. He also filed a motion to suppress based on an allegedly improper showup. After extensive pretrial evidentiary hearings, the Court, in open court, denied all motions to dismiss and the motion to suppress. This opinion discusses only those motions which the Court feels are sufficiently unique to merit a written opinion.

II. FACTS

Elder is the director of the Casa Oscar Romero (Casa Romero), named in honor of the assassinated Roman Catholic Archbishop of El Salvador. Casa Romero, located in San Benito, Cameron County, Texas, provides assistance and shelter to Central Americans, principally Salvadorans, who have fled Central America and entered the United States. Elder considers these persons "refugees" under the Refugee Act of 1980, Pub.L. 96-212, 94 Stat. 102, and international law. Elder regards Casa Romero as a sanctuary in the biblical sense. The testimony indicated that the Casa Romero was founded in December, 1982, on land donated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville. Parishes and congregations of various religious affiliations donated seed money and continue to provide financial support for the Casa Romero. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville plays a financial and leadership role in the operation of the Casa Romero.

On March 12, 1984, Elder transported three undocumented Salvadorans six miles from the Casa Romero to a bus station in Harlingen, Texas, within the Rio Grande Valley. Without permission or documentation, these aliens together had entered the United States earlier that same day in the vicinity of the Matamoros-Brownsville International Bridge. The Salvadorans then walked twenty-five miles to San Benito, where they were directed to the Casa Romero. After they ate and rested at the Casa Romero, the Salvadorans asked Elder for a ride to the Harlingen bus station. The Salvadorans planned to go north to Houston on the bus through the Border Patrol checkpoint located north of Harlingen on U.S. Highway 77. Elder complied with the Salvadorans' request by taking them to the Continental Trailways Bus Station in Harlingen. Elder knew of the Salvadorans' plan to go to Houston.

Two Border Patrol agents saw the three Salvadorans get out of Elder's vehicle in front of the bus station. After the agents recorded the license plate number of the vehicle, the agents detained the Salvadorans and took them to the Harlingen Border Patrol office. A license plate check revealed that the car was registered to Elder. An agent of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) later returned the Salvadorans to the Casa Romero, where the Salvadorans identified Elder. At the pretrial evidentiary hearing, the Salvadorans and the Border Patrol agents identified Elder as the driver of the vehicle.

III. MOTION TO DISMISS—FREEDOM OF RELIGION

Elder contends that his First Amendment right to exercise religion entitles him to put into practice his religious beliefs, which includes providing shelter and transportation for Salvadoran aliens, even if those practices clash with the statutory prohibitions of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2). Courts have recognized that the exercise of religious freedom can sometimes excuse criminal conduct, see Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 32 L.Ed.2d 15 (1972); People v. Woody, 61 Cal.2d 716, 40 Cal. Rptr. 69, 394 P.2d 813 (1964); however, the Supreme Court has determined that the enforcement of criminal laws can be constitutionally achieved even if the laws interfere with the religious practices of individuals. See Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. 296, 60 S.Ct. 900, 84 L.Ed. 1213 (1940); Prince v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158, 64 S.Ct. 438, 88 L.Ed. 645 (1944); Reynolds v. United States, 8 Otto 145, 98 U.S. 145, 25 L.Ed. 244 (1878). The First Amendment "embraces two concepts — freedom to believe and freedom to act. The first is absolute but, in the nature of things, the second cannot be." Cantwell v. Connecticut, 310 U.S. at 303-04, 60 S.Ct. at 903.

Recent court decisions describe the appropriate analysis to resolve the conflict between the prohibitions of a criminal statute and the perceived mandates of religious practice. Elder bears the initial burden to demonstrate that religious beliefs motivated his conduct. The burden then shifts to the Government to justify placing limitations on the religious conduct. The Government must show that such limitations are essential to accomplish a compelling governmental interest. The limitation on religion must not exceed the least burdensome method of accomplishing the Government's purpose without infringing First Amendment rights. Peyote Way Church of God, Inc. v. Smith, 742 F.2d 193, 200 (5th Cir.1984); see United States v. Lee, 455 U.S. 252, 102 S.Ct. 1051, 71 L.Ed.2d 127 (1982); Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 32 L.Ed.2d 15 (1972).

When a defendant presents evidence to meet his initial burden, the Court must be careful and deferential in examining the Defendant's beliefs. The Supreme Court notes that the determination of what constitutes a religious belief or practice presents "a most delicate question." Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. at 215, 92 S.Ct. at 1533. The Court should neither interpret canon law nor define the parameters of a religion. See Thomas v. Review Board of the Indiana Employment Security Division, 450 U.S. 707, 715-16, 101 S.Ct. 1425, 1430-31, 67 L.Ed.2d 624 (1981).

The Court finds that Elder has met his initial burden. He is a Roman Catholic who feels a charitable Christian commitment, founded in the Gospel, which motivates him to assist those who flee the violence in El Salvador. Elder presented the testimony of various Christian clergymen who confirmed that assistance to those in need remains a fundamental aspect of Christianity. Bishop John Fitzpatrick, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, testified that meeting material human needs represents an essential aspect of Christianity, and that each individual remains free to fulfill this obligation according to the directives of his or her own conscience. Although no law of the Roman Catholic Church specifically requires Roman Catholics to provide sanctuary or rides to Salvadorans, Bishop Fitzpatrick believes that providing such assistance constitutes an appropriate expression of the Christian gospel. According to the testimony of the various ministers, this conclusion also holds true in other denominations. These ministers included Donovan Cook of the American Baptist Church, James Andrews of the Presbyterian Church, John Steinbrook of the Lutheran Church, and Gilbert Dawes and John Soper of the United Methodist Church. The Government called no witnesses to oppose the testimony of these ministers.

Elder feels a religious commitment to assist Salvadorans because of the political turbulence in that country. An insurgent movement currently exists in El Salvador which continues to battle government forces. Elder filed numerous statements from alleged eyewitnesses who describe a brutal situation in El Salvador. According to these statements and testimony in court, the conflict in El Salvador has resulted in much violence and many atrocities directed at the civilian population from both sides. The testimony contains graphic descriptions of torture, murder, brutalities, and disappearances. The violence has included church workers among its victims.

Although the Court has no reason to doubt the description of tragedy and horror in El Salvador, the Court need only find that Elder believed that such violence actually occurred. This Court has no responsibility to make factual findings concerning the situation in El Salvador. The Court need not make any foreign policy judgments in order to conclude that, in assisting the Salvadorans, Elder acted in accordance with his personal view of Christianity. The Bishop of the Brownsville Diocese believes that Elder is a religious man who practiced his Roman Catholicism when he transported the Salvadorans. According to the Bishop, as a practicing Roman Catholic, the expression of Elder's inner religious thoughts can properly be evidenced by charitable social action, such as assistance to undocumented Central Americans.

The Court understands that other members of the Roman Catholic faith may oppose Elder's activist response to the situation in Central America. The Court emphasizes that it is not an arbiter of canon law. The Court simply finds that Elder fulfilled his Christian obligations as he genuinely perceived them to be and that Elder presented substantial testimony to support his view of Christianity. This Court's conclusions are not intended to define the Christian Gospel or Christian response to it. The Court need not correctly interpret Christian doctrine in order to hear the position of the Defendant.

Because Elder meets his initial burden, the Government must show an overriding interest to justify prosecution. The Court finds that the Government meets its burden to demonstrate an overriding interest in protecting a congressionally-sanctioned immigration and naturalization system designed to maintain the integrity of this Nation's borders. In discussing the importance of United States' immigration laws, the...