ENTRY INTO THE US WITHOUT INSPECTION IS A CRIME

Americans and Legal US Residents have to subject ourselves to search (and seizure of some items we bring back into the country) by US Immigration and US Customs. Not to mention subject ourselves to mandatory taxes when traveling into and out of the country by air and sea as well as possible import duties

It has bugged me to no end to hear politicians and illegal alien activities claim that illegal aliens are not breaking the law by avoiding Immigration and Customs Agents when crossing into the country. After all people get fined, detained, arrested and deported at border crossing stations every day. How can it be possible to enter the country legally by crossing the desert, hopping a fence, sneaking through a tunnel, or hiding in a car, truck, railcar or cargo container. Well, it is not possible:

ENTRY WITHOUT INSPECTION IS A CRIME: In fact, pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1325, crossing the border illegally is a crime--a misdemeanor for the first offense and a felony for the second and subsequent offenses. But of course, ignoring or mischaracterizing the law is a very convenient way for those in power to avoid the laws they find most inconvenient. Sadly, statements such as these are also a signal that Americans will have to wait a long time before their government articulates any credible immigration enforcement policy. - DAN STEIN (Found via Michelle Malkin)

Of course crossing the border is not the only crime illegal aliens commit. They also work here without authorization to work. Many do not pay taxes. They do not show up for court dates when they are caught and released on their own honor to return. They steal people's identities by using Social Security numbers that do not belong to them. They misuse IRS ITIN numbers, fabricating fake Social Security cards. American's get punished for doing these things. However, illegal aliens do not.

These people should not be here. Yes, they are, but many are here because they believe that eventually they will be given the right to live here legally. This is a legitimate expectation given how others who have came here before them have managed to makes lives here for themselves with little fear of being caught by the authorities.

What is needed is more enforcement like in Arizona. The Federal Government makes it too easy for illegal aliens to live here. As I have said before, if this is about fairness, then why not approve a residence permit for a person who has waited for one for every person who came here illegally.

One more relevant piece of law people normally ignore, hiring illegal alien day laborers is a felony:

A person (including a group of persons, business, organization or local government) commits a federal felony when he:

• assists an alien whom he should reasonably know is illegally in the U.S. or who lacks employment authorization, by transporting, sheltering, or assisting him to obtain employment,
• encourages that alien to remain in the U.S., by referring him to an employer, by acting as employer or agent for an employer in any way, or
• knowingly assists illegal aliens due to personal convictions.

Penalties upon conviction include criminal fines, imprisonment, and forfeiture of vehicles and real property used to commit the crime.

Anyone employing or contracting with an illegal alien without verifying his work authorization status is guilty of a misdemeanor. Aliens and employers violating immigration laws are subject to arrest, detention, and seizure of their vehicles or property. In addition, individuals or entities who engage in racketeering enterprises that commit (or conspire to commit) immigration-related felonies are subject to private civil suits for treble damages and injunctive relief. - Link

(Click on the label Illegal Aliens for more thoughts on this matter.)-------------------- --------------------