Telling us what we already knew about immigration

It is commonly known among immigration lawyers and advocates that being undocumented does not make a person a criminal. This has always been so. Interesting that so many people think otherwise. The WP presents this information as if it was a surprise. Thank goodness a U.S. Attorney who would be considered official representative of our government has verified what we already knew. See dreamacttexas post "Not a Crime: Undocumented Immigration is a Civil Offense" from December 20, 2007.

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Top federal prosecutor in NJ: Being undocumented not a crime

The Associated Press
Monday, April 28, 2008; 4:16 PM

DOVER, N.J. -- New Jersey's top federal prosecutor told a Latino group it's a civil offense _ not a crime _ for immigrants to live in the country without proper documentation, a comment that a spokesman later said was aimed at a narrowly worded question.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, widely considered to be a leading GOP contender for governor next year, spoke Sunday in response to a question on illegal immigration at an open forum that grew heated. He said living in the U.S. without immigration paperwork is "an administrative matter" that federal immigration officials are supposed to address through deportation.

"Don't let people make you believe that that's a crime that the U.S. attorney's office should be doing something about," Christie was quoted as saying in The Star-Ledger of Newark for Monday editions. "It is not."

Christie stressed that lacking immigration documents is not a crime unless the person was previously deported...

for complete WP/AP article click here