Carman Technically, you are correct. They do not become "criminals", per se, until they have been arrested, charged, tried and then convicted on the charge of illegal entry. Since most of them are never run through our judicial system, (only deported), they do not become "criminals" in the narrow, technical sense of the term.
Of course, simply being in the US without formal documentation and proof of legal status is a crime, and by being here without going through the formalities they have committed a crime.
Carman Certainly it has. The fact that we don't normally charge people does not change that. They CAN be arrested, charged, tried, convicted, given a prison sentence and deported, complete with a criminal record, when they are released. individuals
Carman You are mistaken there. Criminality is a fine reason not to allow an individual into the US.
KERRY & TRIAL LAWYERS DESTROY JOBSJohn Kerry is beholden to trial lawyers who have heavily supported his campaign. Trial lawyers do no productive work. All they do is take money...
Perhaps a look at out international neighbors immigration laws would be instructive. Canada routinely imprisons illegal immigrants and keeps them iin prison for years. Their property is confiscated and they are deported to he nearest country that will take them.
In Mexico, Americans caught in the country illegally can expect an indefinate prison sentence. Their custom is to totally exhaust the prisoner's finincial resources before they actually hand down a jail term. Many Americans have died in Mexican jails because the authorities thought there was still the posibility of extorting more money from the prisoner's American friends and relatives.