Illegal Immigration Not Criminal? Come Now, Madame Secretary

Yesterday, our Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, was interviewed by John King on CNN's "State of the Union." A transcript of the entire interview may be read here. It's mostly weasel wiggle -- and she dances around the whole incalculably tacky "veterans as right wing extremists thing" again -- but one of the most disturbing things about the interview is her characterization of illegal immigration. When questioned about the government's apparent inability to enforce immigration laws that prohibit illegal entry into the United States, she said (emphasis mine):

What we have to do is target the real evil-doers in this business, the
employers who consistently hire illegal labor, the human traffickers who are
exploiting human misery.


And yes, when we find illegal workers, yes, appropriate action, some of
which is criminal, most of that is civil, because crossing the border is not
a crime per se. It is civil. But anyway, going after those as well.

While there are civil penalties for entering the United States in violation of the United States Code, offenses for which there is the statutory potential for imprisonment are criminal in nature, not civil. See 1325 U.S.C., section 8. A first offense can draw 6 months in a federal pen; subsequent offenses can draw up to 2 years -- both can also result in (pretty unimpressive) fines.

Crossing the border in violation of American law is at best incivil. These "visitors" to our fair land are crooks.

She's in charge of your being able to get a good night's sleep. Feeling sleepy? Feeling SECURE? Not.


Crossposted here.