2012 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 16 - Crimes and Offenses
Chapter 9 - OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC JUSTICE
Section 16-9-460 - Unlawful entry into the United States; furthering illegal entry by or avoidance of detection of undocumented alien; penalties; exceptions.

(A) It is a felony for a person who has come to, entered, or remained in the United States in violation of law to allow themselves to be transported, moved, or attempted to be transported within the State or to solicit or conspire to be transported or moved within the State with intent to further the person's unlawful entry into the United States or avoiding apprehension or detection of the person's unlawful immigration status by state or federal authorities.

(B) It is a felony for a person knowingly or in reckless disregard of the fact that another person has come to, entered, or remained in the United States in violation of law to transport, move, or attempt to transport that person within the State or to solicit or conspire to transport or move that person within the State with intent to further that person's unlawful entry into the United States or avoiding apprehension or detection of that person's unlawful immigration status by state or federal authorities.

(C) It is a felony for a person who has come to, entered, or remained in the United States in violation of law to conceal, harbor, or shelter themselves from detection or to solicit or conspire to conceal, harbor, or shelter themselves from detection in any place, including a building or means of transportation, with intent to further that person's unlawful entry into the United States or avoiding apprehension or detection of the person's unlawful immigration status by state or federal authorities.

(D) It is a felony for a person knowingly or in reckless disregard of the fact that another person has come to, entered, or remained in the United States in violation of law to conceal, harbor, or shelter from detection or to solicit or conspire to conceal, harbor, or shelter from detection that person in any place, including a building or means of transportation, with intent to further that person's unlawful entry into the United States or avoiding apprehension or detection of that person's unlawful immigration status by state or federal authorities.

(E) A person who violates the provisions of this section is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be punished by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed five years, or both.

(F) A person who is convicted of, pleads guilty to, or enters into a plea of nolo contendere to a violation of this section must not be permitted to seek or obtain any professional license offered by the State or any agency or political subdivision of the State.

(G) This section does not apply to programs, services, or assistance including soup kitchens, crisis counseling, and intervention; churches or other religious institutions that are recognized as 501(c)(3) organizations by the Internal Revenue Service; or short-term shelters specified by the United States Attorney General, in the United States Attorney General's sole discretion after consultation with appropriate federal agencies and departments, which:

(i) deliver in-kind services at the community level, including through public or private nonprofit agencies;

(ii) do not condition the provision of assistance, the amount of assistance provided, or the cost of assistance provided on the individual recipient's income or resources; and

(iii) are necessary for the protection of life or safety.

Shelter provided for strictly humanitarian purposes or provided under the Violence Against Women Act is not a violation of this section, so long as the shelter is not provided in furtherance of or in an attempt to conceal a person's illegal presence in the United States.

(H) Providing health care treatment or services to a natural person who is in the United States unlawfully is not a violation of this section.

HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 280, Section 9, eff June 4, 2008; 2011 Act No. 69, Section 4, eff January 1, 2012.

VALIDITY

< For validity of this section, see U.S. v. South Carolina, 840 F.Supp.2d 898 (D.S.C. December 22, 2011). >