WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court seems sympathetic to a Mexican immigrant facing deportation after he was convicted of having consensual sex with an underage girl.
The case before the justices on Monday involved Juan Esquivel-Quintana, a lawful permanent resident who had sex with his 16-year-old girlfriend when he was 20 and 21 years old.
That was a violation of California law, which criminalizes having sex with anyone under 18 if the age difference is more than three years. Federal officials later moved to deport him, but Esquivel-Quintana says his conduct would have been legal under federal law and the laws of 43 other states that are less strict.
The case comes at a time when the Trump administration has pledged to step up enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws.
