Leroy N. Soetoro
2017-04-29 16:09:02 UTC
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/04/26/sen-kamala-
harriss-claim-that-an-undocumented-immigrant-is-not-a-
criminal/?utm_term=.af4e77f1a195
An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.
Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), tweet, April 21, 2017
The Presidents immigration actions and Muslim ban will make America less
safe. As a prosecutor, I can tell you, it is a serious mistake to conflate
criminal justice policy with immigration policy as if they are the same
thing. They are not. I have personally prosecuted everything from low-
level offenses to homicides. I know what a crime looks like. I will tell
you: an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal. But thats what these
actions do. They suggest all immigrants are criminals and treat immigrants
like criminals.
Harris, maiden speech in response to President Trumps immigration
executive order, Feb. 16, 2017
This tweet one of several tweets published during her town hall caught
our attention, and we were curious about the context in which the junior
senator from California made this claim. It turned out that Harris used
this talking point regularly on the 2016 Senate campaign trail, and she
often made the claim to draw a legal distinction in immigration and
criminal law (as in the Feb. 16 speech).
We took a deeper look at the former California attorney generals claim.
The Facts
The act of being unlawfully present in the United States is a civil
violation, not a criminal offense. According to her staff, that is what
Harris is referring to when she uses this line.
In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that as a general rule, it is not a
crime for a removable alien to remain present in the United States. The
majority opinion was issued in a lawsuit over a controversial 2010 Arizona
law that required local police to determine the immigration status of
someone who is detained or arrested, if police had a reasonable
suspicion that the person was in the country illegally. This was the most
controversial provision that opponents of the law said would open up room
for rampant racial profiling. The Supreme Court upheld this provision but
struck down most others that were challenged.
The undocumented population includes people who improperly entered the
country, those who entered legally but overstayed the terms of their
temporary entry (such as staying beyond the time authorized with a
temporary visa), and those who have quasi-legal status, such as people
who are granted deferred action status.
The federal immigration law imposes criminal penalties on some actions
related to undocumented presence, according to the American Civil
Liberties Union, which is a critic of Trumps recent immigration actions.
Illegally entering the country (for example, illegally crossing the
border), re-entering the country after being removed or falsifying
documents to enter the country are all criminally punishable.
It is unclear exactly how many people within the estimated 11 million
undocumented population entered legally or illegally. Advocates on both
sides use a statistic published in 2006, that about 55 to 60 percent of
the undocumented population entered the country illegally.
Harris specifically uses the word criminals, referring to people who
violated criminal law. That further distinguishes between people who are
unlawfully present (and have not been convicted of a crime) and
noncitizens who are charged and convicted of criminal offenses
(immigration or otherwise). The term criminal aliens is used for the
latter group of noncitizens.
In summary: If you entered the United States without permission, you would
be subject to criminal penalties, thus labeling you a criminal if youre
convicted. But just the simple act of being in the country without
permission doesnt make you a criminal, because its a civil offense.
If youre looking at it from the pure legalistic perspective, then she is
right to some extent, that simply being here without legal status is not a
crime. It doesnt make you a criminal, said David Bier, immigration
policy expert at the libertarian Cato Institute. But many undocumented
immigrants have committed criminal violations of immigration law, and
theres nothing wrong with pointing that out. Theres no discord between
saying that, and that you think that we should provide a pathway to
citizenship, in order to allow them to live here without having to break
the law.
Opponents of illegal immigration say Harriss claim is a distinction
without a difference, because youre still breaking the law civil or
criminal. David Ray, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration
Reform, which supports lower levels of legal and illegal immigration,
said: All illegal aliens have broken the law that is undisputable.
Unlawful border crossings are criminal offenses: misdemeanor for the first
offense and a felony for repeat offenders. While overstaying a visa is a
civil offense under immigration law, those who do it still break the law
and are subject to removal.
Harris spokesman Tyrone Gayle said: Senator Harris was referring to the
fact that this Administration has painted all undocumented immigrants as
criminals, when the reality is the vast majority of undocumented
immigrants here are following the law, contributing to our economy and
society. Labeling people as criminals solely because of their immigration
status is inaccurate, strains the limited resources of local law
enforcement, and makes our communities less safe.
Harris further explained her point to a Washington Post reporter, who
asked her about her use of this talking point at a March 28 news
conference with immigration advocates:
Reporter: And to Senator Harris, I want to make sure that I understand
what you said. You said an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal. With
total respect to the stories we just heard, if they crossed the border
illegally or if they overstayed a visa, are they not breaking the law and
thus in violation of the law as criminals? Or are you distinguishing that
and some other [inaudible]?
Harris: Two obvious points. It is a civil violation, its not a crime.
Period, full stop. And the second point is that there is a whole community
that is being vilified because of this misinformed, misdirected term
illegal alien. And what is happening is youre seeing then misguided and
misinformed policies come from that. And it is not only just unfortunate,
its irresponsible. Its irresponsible to paint a whole population of
people as rapists and murderers and bad hombres. Its actually ignorant
and we cant afford to run our country that way. So they are not
criminals.
The Pinocchio Test
The act of being in the United States without permission is not a criminal
violation of the law, but a civil infraction. That is what Harris is
referring to when she says an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.
But some undocumented people have violated criminal law in relation to
their immigration status for example, those who illegally entered the
country or falsified documents.
Harris also uses this phrase to draw a distinction between unauthorized
people who are living in the United States without having committed a
crime, and those who are both unauthorized and have committed a crime (or
criminal alien).
We hold politicians to a reasonable-person standard. The technical
distinctions she makes are not immediately clear without additional
context, especially to the layman who doesnt understand the intricacies
and nuances of criminal and immigration law.
Two Pinocchios
--
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party has run out of gas.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for ending the disaster of the
Obama presidency.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
Obama jobs, the result of ObamaCare. 12-15 working hours a week at minimum
wage, no benefits and the primary revenue stream for ObamaCare. It can't
be funded with money people don't have, yet liberals lie about how great
it is.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.
harriss-claim-that-an-undocumented-immigrant-is-not-a-
criminal/?utm_term=.af4e77f1a195
An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.
Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), tweet, April 21, 2017
The Presidents immigration actions and Muslim ban will make America less
safe. As a prosecutor, I can tell you, it is a serious mistake to conflate
criminal justice policy with immigration policy as if they are the same
thing. They are not. I have personally prosecuted everything from low-
level offenses to homicides. I know what a crime looks like. I will tell
you: an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal. But thats what these
actions do. They suggest all immigrants are criminals and treat immigrants
like criminals.
Harris, maiden speech in response to President Trumps immigration
executive order, Feb. 16, 2017
This tweet one of several tweets published during her town hall caught
our attention, and we were curious about the context in which the junior
senator from California made this claim. It turned out that Harris used
this talking point regularly on the 2016 Senate campaign trail, and she
often made the claim to draw a legal distinction in immigration and
criminal law (as in the Feb. 16 speech).
We took a deeper look at the former California attorney generals claim.
The Facts
The act of being unlawfully present in the United States is a civil
violation, not a criminal offense. According to her staff, that is what
Harris is referring to when she uses this line.
In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that as a general rule, it is not a
crime for a removable alien to remain present in the United States. The
majority opinion was issued in a lawsuit over a controversial 2010 Arizona
law that required local police to determine the immigration status of
someone who is detained or arrested, if police had a reasonable
suspicion that the person was in the country illegally. This was the most
controversial provision that opponents of the law said would open up room
for rampant racial profiling. The Supreme Court upheld this provision but
struck down most others that were challenged.
The undocumented population includes people who improperly entered the
country, those who entered legally but overstayed the terms of their
temporary entry (such as staying beyond the time authorized with a
temporary visa), and those who have quasi-legal status, such as people
who are granted deferred action status.
The federal immigration law imposes criminal penalties on some actions
related to undocumented presence, according to the American Civil
Liberties Union, which is a critic of Trumps recent immigration actions.
Illegally entering the country (for example, illegally crossing the
border), re-entering the country after being removed or falsifying
documents to enter the country are all criminally punishable.
It is unclear exactly how many people within the estimated 11 million
undocumented population entered legally or illegally. Advocates on both
sides use a statistic published in 2006, that about 55 to 60 percent of
the undocumented population entered the country illegally.
Harris specifically uses the word criminals, referring to people who
violated criminal law. That further distinguishes between people who are
unlawfully present (and have not been convicted of a crime) and
noncitizens who are charged and convicted of criminal offenses
(immigration or otherwise). The term criminal aliens is used for the
latter group of noncitizens.
In summary: If you entered the United States without permission, you would
be subject to criminal penalties, thus labeling you a criminal if youre
convicted. But just the simple act of being in the country without
permission doesnt make you a criminal, because its a civil offense.
If youre looking at it from the pure legalistic perspective, then she is
right to some extent, that simply being here without legal status is not a
crime. It doesnt make you a criminal, said David Bier, immigration
policy expert at the libertarian Cato Institute. But many undocumented
immigrants have committed criminal violations of immigration law, and
theres nothing wrong with pointing that out. Theres no discord between
saying that, and that you think that we should provide a pathway to
citizenship, in order to allow them to live here without having to break
the law.
Opponents of illegal immigration say Harriss claim is a distinction
without a difference, because youre still breaking the law civil or
criminal. David Ray, spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration
Reform, which supports lower levels of legal and illegal immigration,
said: All illegal aliens have broken the law that is undisputable.
Unlawful border crossings are criminal offenses: misdemeanor for the first
offense and a felony for repeat offenders. While overstaying a visa is a
civil offense under immigration law, those who do it still break the law
and are subject to removal.
Harris spokesman Tyrone Gayle said: Senator Harris was referring to the
fact that this Administration has painted all undocumented immigrants as
criminals, when the reality is the vast majority of undocumented
immigrants here are following the law, contributing to our economy and
society. Labeling people as criminals solely because of their immigration
status is inaccurate, strains the limited resources of local law
enforcement, and makes our communities less safe.
Harris further explained her point to a Washington Post reporter, who
asked her about her use of this talking point at a March 28 news
conference with immigration advocates:
Reporter: And to Senator Harris, I want to make sure that I understand
what you said. You said an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal. With
total respect to the stories we just heard, if they crossed the border
illegally or if they overstayed a visa, are they not breaking the law and
thus in violation of the law as criminals? Or are you distinguishing that
and some other [inaudible]?
Harris: Two obvious points. It is a civil violation, its not a crime.
Period, full stop. And the second point is that there is a whole community
that is being vilified because of this misinformed, misdirected term
illegal alien. And what is happening is youre seeing then misguided and
misinformed policies come from that. And it is not only just unfortunate,
its irresponsible. Its irresponsible to paint a whole population of
people as rapists and murderers and bad hombres. Its actually ignorant
and we cant afford to run our country that way. So they are not
criminals.
The Pinocchio Test
The act of being in the United States without permission is not a criminal
violation of the law, but a civil infraction. That is what Harris is
referring to when she says an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.
But some undocumented people have violated criminal law in relation to
their immigration status for example, those who illegally entered the
country or falsified documents.
Harris also uses this phrase to draw a distinction between unauthorized
people who are living in the United States without having committed a
crime, and those who are both unauthorized and have committed a crime (or
criminal alien).
We hold politicians to a reasonable-person standard. The technical
distinctions she makes are not immediately clear without additional
context, especially to the layman who doesnt understand the intricacies
and nuances of criminal and immigration law.
Two Pinocchios
--
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party has run out of gas.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for ending the disaster of the
Obama presidency.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp.
ObamaCare is a total 100% failure and no lie that can be put forth by its
supporters can dispute that.
Obama jobs, the result of ObamaCare. 12-15 working hours a week at minimum
wage, no benefits and the primary revenue stream for ObamaCare. It can't
be funded with money people don't have, yet liberals lie about how great
it is.
Obama increased total debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion in the eight
years he was in office, and sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood queer
liberal democrat donors.