That says you can apply for asylum regardless of entering illegally (or to use the term of art, EWI/entered without inspection). You can also apply if you are i

That says you can apply for asylum regardless of entering illegally (or to use the term of art, EWI/entered without inspection). You can also apply if you are in removal proceedings for some other reason, ex. illegal work or false statements. In and of itself, nothing in that statue allows or removes criminal or monetary penalties for the act of crossing illegally itself. There are cases where people were convicted of the same despite a successful grant of defensive asylum. (https://repository.uchastings.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2048&context=hastings_constitutional_law_quaterly https://repository.uchastings.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?articl...)