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Immigration is not criminalized; illegal immigration is. Is current immigration law perfect? Certainly not, but when someone violates a bad law, he is still in

by jff 13y ago

Immigration is not criminalized; illegal immigration is. Is current immigration law perfect? Certainly not, but when someone violates a bad law, he is still in violation of the law. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration_to_the_United_States#Immigration_laws http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_immigration_to_the_Unit..., illegal immigration may be punishable by "criminal fines and penalties" including jail time. That sounds an awful lot like "it is a crime to illegally enter the country". "Criminal", the noun, is defined as "A person who is guilty of a crime, notably breaking the law." Sodomy laws may be stupid, but that does not change the fact that until 2003, numerous people were guilty of committing the crime of sodomy in the state of Texas.

will_brown 13y ago
>That sounds an awful lot like "it is a crime to illegally enter the country" I think your position is shared by many if not most, but that does not make it a crime, it just encourages and justifies treating undocumented immigrants as criminals. For example the wikipedia article you cite, cites section a.) of 8 USC § 1325 - Improper entry by alien, but if you actually read the code it continues to section b.) it continues...Any alien who is apprehended while entering (or attempting to enter) the United States at a time or place other than as designated by immigration officers shall be subject to a civil penalty of— (see: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1325 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1325) >Immigration is not criminalized; illegal immigration is It is not criminal. It is civil in nature, just like a speeding ticket is not criminal it is civil but results in fines. The imprisonment is a little misleading, because undocumented, or even documented, immigrants facing removal proceedings (deportation for the layman) can be held in "detention centers" during the proceedings, so while in fact they are similar to jails or prisons, legally they are not. I have even had cases where my client was staying at a hotel (paid by the government) during the removal proceeding bc the detention center had no more open beds. The reality is many immigrants are eligible to "elect voluntary removal" if they can purchase their own travel out of the country and generally the Government agrees and allows them to voluntarily depart without having to go through the proceedings/detention. >"Criminal", the noun, is defined as "A person who is guilty of a crime, notably breaking the law." The key is guilty of a crime, but immigration status is not a crime it is a civil issue.
deleted 13y ago
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by jff 13y ago

will_brown 13y ago

>That sounds an awful lot like "it is a crime to illegally enter the country" I think your position is shared by many if not most, but that does not make it a crime, it just encourages and justifies treating undocumented immigrants as criminals. For example the wikipedia article you cite, cites section a.) of 8 USC § 1325 - Improper entry by alien, but if you actually read the code it continues to section b.) it continues...Any alien who is apprehended while entering (or attempting to enter) the United States at a time or place other than as designated by immigration officers shall be subject to a civil penalty of— (see: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1325 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1325) >Immigration is not criminalized; illegal immigration is It is not criminal. It is civil in nature, just like a speeding ticket is not criminal it is civil but results in fines. The imprisonment is a little misleading, because undocumented, or even documented, immigrants facing removal proceedings (deportation for the layman) can be held in "detention centers" during the proceedings, so while in fact they are similar to jails or prisons, legally they are not. I have even had cases where my client was staying at a hotel (paid by the government) during the removal proceeding bc the detention center had no more open beds. The reality is many immigrants are eligible to "elect voluntary removal" if they can purchase their own travel out of the country and generally the Government agrees and allows them to voluntarily depart without having to go through the proceedings/detention. >"Criminal", the noun, is defined as "A person who is guilty of a crime, notably breaking the law." The key is guilty of a crime, but immigration status is not a crime it is a civil issue.

deleted 13y ago

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