Heriberto Carbajal-Flores was photographed by a police camera on June 1, 2021, after he fired a gun near 30th Street and Kostner Avenue in Chicago. (U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division)
In her decision Friday, Coleman found that while a federal ban on illegal immigrants is "facially constitutional," there is no historical tradition of firearm regulation that permits the government to deprive a noncitizen who has never been convicted of a violent crime from exercising his Second Amendment rights.
"The noncitizen possession statute … violates the Second Amendment as applied to Carbajal-Flores," the judge wrote. "Thus, the Court grants Carbajal-Flores' motion to dismiss."
Sweetow said Coleman's decision was "illogical." He described how a friend of his, a law-abiding businessman who lives in Chicago, cannot legally carry a firearm in the city even though he has an Illinois state firearms owner ID card.
"He has not been able to get a permit to have a firearm, but yet an illegal alien, who fired his gun recklessly … he's allowed to have a firearm. And there's just something illogical and wrong about that," Sweetow said.
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U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman ruled that a federal prohibition on illegal immigrants owning firearms is unconstitutional as applied to defendant Heriberto Carbajal-Flores, pictured here. (U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division)
"Essentially, what the judge has done is she has invalidated the 1968 Gun Control Act and all the amendments that have come since," he told Fox News.
For example, individuals who purchase a gun from a licensed dealer are required to fill out an ATF form and undergo a background check through the FBI's Firearms Checks system. "How is the FBI supposed to access records of people who have come into the United States illegally?" Sweetow asked.
He said Coleman's decision will throw law enforcement "into complete turmoil because someone who's going to be enforcing the laws no longer knows whether those laws are even valid."
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"It definitely has to be appealed, because otherwise, it's going to make it tough to prosecute any criminals for possession of a firearm."
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois did not respond when asked if prosecutors planned to appeal Coleman's ruling.
Chris Pandolfo is a writer for Fox News Digital. Send tips to chris.pandolfo@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo.
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