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"Political refugee attempting to exercise their right to seek asylum from persecution" can do so LEGALLY at any official border crossing. Crossing the border IL
by alacombe 7y ago
"Political refugee attempting to exercise their right to seek asylum from persecution" can do so LEGALLY at any official border crossing. Crossing the border ILLEGALLY makes you a criminal, by definition.
- kragen 7y agoYour first statement is true in theory but is false in fact; that is to say, it is a lie the government tells. Your second statement is not true even in theory.
- alacombe 7y agohttps://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title8-section1325&num=0&edition=prelim https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid%3AUSC-prel... Illegal entry is a misdemeanor, thus criminal. QED.
- kragen 7y agoYou're right, and I appreciate the correction. "Improper entry" is, as you say, a misdemeanor under US law, similar to public intoxication, trespassing, or reckless driving. I was thinking of overstaying visas, which is not any kind of crime under US law. Still, it seems like a rather desperate rhetorical move to describe even a reckless driver as "a criminal, by definition", much less a person fleeing political persecution and seeking refuge in another country — a right guaranteed to them by international law, even if the US is abrogating its obligations under that law. Technically, it's true that under US law they are guilty of a misdemeanor, just like a wino getting drunk in the park, but clearly neither of these is a central example of the class of people to which we normally refer when we say "a criminal"; it seems more like an argument for disregarding US law.