Encouraging Illegal Immigration (A Crime?)

In 1986, a federal law was passed that made it illegal to encourage immigrants who came into the United States illegally, or who were trying to, to come or stay in the country without proper authorization and documentation. While there are still some in support of this, some have raised a question about if this law violates the First Amendment's freedom of speech. Some Justices, such as Chief Justice John G. Roberts, feel that it is not lawful to consider those who encourage illegal immigrants criminally complicit, "...a grandmother whose granddaughter is in the United States illegally, would it be a crime if she told her granddaughter, 'I hope you will stay because, you know, I will miss you; things will not get better if you go back, so I encourage you to stay'". While on the other hand, some think the First Amendment is not relevant in this case. Attorney Eric J Feigin argues that the statute is not intended to be directed at speech.
The criminal justice system is full of gray areas, where right and wrong are not always black and white. There are always ethical, moral, emotional, and situational factors that play a part in tying to determine what the right thing to do it. This is a great example of that. Is it a criminal act for people to encourage their family members to stay in a country that is safer, full of better opportunity, better living conditions, etc., just because they were not born here? The use of the word "encourage" in the statute is up for debate. Does encouraging account for the words they use to try and get illegal immigrants to come to our country or to continue to stay here? Does it apply to the resources they might make available to them to stay, such as a place to stay, schooling, etc.? I definitely see where an argument could be made that this statute is in violation of the First Amendment, but I do not think that is how many people would interpret it, or how it was intended to be.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/us/politics/supreme-court-immigration-first-amendment.html
https://www.npr.org/2017/03/29/521920595/canadians-report-more-scrutiny-and-rejection-at-u-s-border-checkpoints