Time to review the legal facts about immigration:
ILLEGAL ENTRY (crossing the border without going through proper immigration), while it is a crime, is only a MISDEMEANOR, not a felony. It is on a par with public drunkenness. The charge must be proven in a court of law and not just assumed because of unlawful presence.
UNLAWFUL PRESENCE does NOT imply illegal entry. Most undocumented people entered legally but overstayed their visa. This is a civil offense, on a par with a parking ticket. It is NOT a crime, and people here unlawfully are not criminals.
The federal STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS is normally 5 years, so if someone entered more than five years ago (and did not use false citizenship papers), the charge of illegal entry is no longer applicable. (Entry using fake papers increases the statute of limitations to 10 years.) Unlawful presence is an ongoing status, not an event, so the statute of limitations doesn't apply. The (non-criminal) penalty for unlawful presence is deportation.
The administration is treating a civil offense as a felony,. They seem to be ignorant of the actual law. They - especially the Attorney General - have no excuse for this; their duty is to know the law. Their misrepresentation and misapplication of the law may, itself, be a legal offense.
Since the general public is also ignorant of the actual law, the anti-immigration faction gets away with using this fear-mongering tactic to control the discussion.
We need to inform the public. Only when people know the facts, and the law, can we begin to have an intelligent discussion about revising immigration policy.
ILLEGAL ENTRY (crossing the border without going through proper immigration), while it is a crime, is only a MISDEMEANOR, not a felony. It is on a par with public drunkenness. The charge must be proven in a court of law and not just assumed because of unlawful presence.
UNLAWFUL PRESENCE does NOT imply illegal entry. Most undocumented people entered legally but overstayed their visa. This is a civil offense, on a par with a parking ticket. It is NOT a crime, and people here unlawfully are not criminals.
The federal STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS is normally 5 years, so if someone entered more than five years ago (and did not use false citizenship papers), the charge of illegal entry is no longer applicable. (Entry using fake papers increases the statute of limitations to 10 years.) Unlawful presence is an ongoing status, not an event, so the statute of limitations doesn't apply. The (non-criminal) penalty for unlawful presence is deportation.
The administration is treating a civil offense as a felony,. They seem to be ignorant of the actual law. They - especially the Attorney General - have no excuse for this; their duty is to know the law. Their misrepresentation and misapplication of the law may, itself, be a legal offense.
Since the general public is also ignorant of the actual law, the anti-immigration faction gets away with using this fear-mongering tactic to control the discussion.
We need to inform the public. Only when people know the facts, and the law, can we begin to have an intelligent discussion about revising immigration policy.
By the way, those with paperwork from Immigration are NOT unlawfully present. This includes asylum-seekers, refugees, and those with Temporary Protected Status, as well as "lawful temporary residents", "conditional permanent residents" and "lawful permanent residents". And, or course, it includes anyone with an unexpired visa, and non-immigrants from places for which the US does not require a visa
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