Opinion of the Court
might have rightfully seen the express mens rea requirement as unnecessary and cut it in a further effort to streamline clause (iv). And in any event, the omission of the unnecessary modifier is certainly not enough to overcome the “presumption of scienter” that typically separates wrongful acts “from ‘otherwise innocent conduct.’ ” Xiulu Ruan v. United States, 597 U. S. ___, ___ (2022) (slip op., at 5); see also Elonis v. United States, 575 U. S. 723, 736–737 (2015).
Nor does the scienter applicable to a distinct element within clause (iv)—that the defendant “kno[w]” or “reckless[ly] disregard … the fact that” the noncitizen’s “coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law”—tell us anything about the mens rea for “encourages or induces.” Many criminal statutes do not require knowledge of illegality, but rather only “ ‘factual knowledge as distinguished from knowledge of the law.’ ” Bryan v. United States, 524 U. S. 184, 192 (1998). So Congress’s choice to specify a mental state for this element tells us something that we might not normally infer, whereas the inclusion of a mens rea requirement for “encourages or induces” would add nothing.
It bears emphasis that even if the Government’s reading were not the best one, the interpretation is at least “ ‘fairly possible’ ”—so the canon of constitutional avoidance would still counsel us to adopt it. Jennings v. Rodriguez, 583 U. S. ___, ___ (2018) (slip op., at 12). This canon is normally a valuable ally for criminal defendants, who raise the prospect of unconstitutional applications to urge a narrower construction. But Hansen presses the clause toward the most expansive reading possible, effectively asking us to apply a canon of “ ‘constitutional collision.’ ” 40 F. 4th, at 1059 (opinion of Bumatay, J.). This tactic is understandable in light of the odd incentives created by the overbreadth doctrine, but it is also wrong. When legislation and the Constitution brush up against each other, our task is to seek
