An illegal alien gang member accused of firing a gun on a public sidewalk in the sanctuary city of New York is now claiming that he has Second Amendment rights just like every United States citizen.

Javier Perez, a 28-year-old illegal alien from Mexico, is claiming that he has Second Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution and therefore is being unfairly charged with possession of a gun.

In July 2016, Perez allegedly fired a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol on a public sidewalk in Brooklyn, New York to fight off a rival street gang, according to the New York Daily News.

If the illegal alien gang member is convicted of firing the pistol, he would receive a maximum sentence of ten years and would likely be deported from the U.S., as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials say they will take Perez into custody should he be released.

Perez and his attorney said he has a Second Amendment right to carry a gun even though he is in the U.S. illegally, telling the New York Daily News:

“The Framers were clear: If they meant citizens, they would have said citizens. But they didn’t,” his defense lawyer, Samuel Jacobson, argued in Brooklyn federal court. “There is no suggestion that there was a concept of ‘illegal alien’ and no suggestion that if you were from a foreign country, you couldn’t bear arms.” Brooklyn federal prosecutors are furious the case has been allowed to move forward. They argue that Perez has zero Second Amendment rights because he came to the U.S. illegally. “Those who don’t have legal status here have an interest in defying law enforcement. They have an interest in not maintaining a stable residence or registering a firearm,” [Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Hajjar] argued in court.

New York City is a sanctuary jurisdiction, where likely hundreds and potentially thousands of criminal illegal aliens are released back into the general public rather than being turned over to ICE for arrest and deportation.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.