Are Illegal Aliens Actually Violating the Law?
Yes, they are. They are violating several laws by entering, staying and working in the United States.
The Fake News Media loves to mythologize the “law-abiding illegal alien,” particularly now as ICE aggressively enforces federal immigration law. In the process, the Fake News Media often falsely claims people who entered this Country illegally commit less violent crime than American citizens. (The false claim that illegals commit less violent crime than Americans is debunked in Chapter 7 of my fourth book, available here.) While the claim illegal aliens commit less violent crime than American citizens is wrong, the notion people who entered this Country illegally are not in violation of the law is laughable. Illegal aliens violate the law in a number of ways. Here are a few.
Entering the USA Illegally is a CRIME
First, any “alien” (defined in 8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(3) as “. . . any person not a citizen or national of the United States”) who attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers is subject to being fined “under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both” for a first offense. See 8 U.S.C. §1325 (a). That means entering this Country illegally is, in a word, illegal. It is a criminal offense for which the person may be imprisoned. Hence, the terms “illegal alien” and “illegal immigration.”
Additionally, people entering this Country by land must enter only at a designated border crossings and must (1) immediately report the arrival and (2) present themselves and all articles accompanying them for inspection “. . . to the customs officer at the customs facility designated for that crossing point.” 19 U.S.C. §1459. Violators are subject to a “. . . fine of not more than $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not more than 1 year or both.” 19 U.S.C. §1459(g). Subsequent violations, result in longer periods of imprisonment and larger fines.
Furthermore, federal law requires every alien over the age of 14 who enters the United States and stays more than 30 days to register with the United States Government and be fingerprinted. 8 U.S.C. §1302(a). For aliens under 14, the burden is on their parents or legal guardian to have them registered and fingerprinted. 8 U.S.C. §1302(b). An alien’s failure to register with the federal government and be fingerprinted is also a crime punishable by a $1,000.00 fine and up to 6 months in prison. See 8 U.S.C. §1306.
The next time a Democrat politician or the Fake News Media claim no one is illegal, you will be able to correct them immediately:
Illegal Aliens and Working in the USA
Pro-illegal immigration advocates, liberals, Democrat politicians and the Fake News Media promote claims about the contributions of illegal aliens to the American workforce. But, the open borders, pro-illegal immigration types always fail to mention it is a federal crime for illegal aliens to work in the USA.
For every person hired in the United States, regardless of whether the person is a citizen or not, an employer and employee must complete the federal I-9 Form. This form requires a person to confirm that he or she is a US citizen or is in the Country legally in order to work. This screenshot from the I-9 Form tells the tale:
Falsely completing the I-9 Form is a violation of the Federal False Statement law, 18 U.S.C. §1001, and constitutes a felony punishable by up five (5) years in prison. (See United States v. Garcia-Ochoa.) Falsifying this form is a very serious crime.
Employers are also subject to serious civil and criminal penalties under federal law for knowingly employing illegal aliens. Federal law provides “It is unlawful for a person or other entity:”
(See 8 U.S.C. §1324a.) The penalties become criminal in nature if the employer engages in a “pattern or practice” of violating this prohibition, with the violating employer subject to a $3,000 fine for “each unauthorized alien with respect to whom such a violation occurs . . .,” and six months imprisonment. (See 8 U.S.C. §1324a.)
Therefore, under federal law both the illegal alien who illegally works in the United States and the employer who knowingly hires the illegal alien are violating the law.
And don’t let the open borders crowd get away with claiming the illegals are only doing jobs American citizens and lawful permanent residents don’t want to do. Recent events reveal those claims to be untrue. For instance, after ICE raided a meat packing plant in Nebraska in June of this year, within days the plant’s waiting area was full of people filling out job applications:
(A good article about the raid on the Nebraska meat-packing plant, the scramble for Americans to get the jobs vacated by the illegals and the Trump Administration’s creation of over one million jobs for Americans thus far may be found here.)
As soon as the illegal aliens were cleared out, people here legally lined up to get the jobs vacated by the illegals. Watch as this scenario plays out again and again across the Country as ICE raids more facilities and removes the illegals.
In addition to these laws there are a host of others which individuals who enter this Country illegally routinely violate, including falsely claiming to be a citizen, fraud and misuse of Federal documents (often done to obtain employment), Social Security fraud, working “off the books” without paying taxes, possession of false papers and failing to register with the Selective Service (yes, even illegal aliens are required to register), just to name a few. And this list does not even address the litany of State laws an illegal alien will violate merely by remaining in the USA.
Conclusion
When illegal aliens enter this Country they violate the law. By staying here they violate the law. By working here they violate the law. Employers who knowingly employ illegal aliens violate the law. The open borders, one world government types, leftists and media hacks all know it. They don’t have the ability to change the law so they try to “massage” the facts and control the narrative. They hope to shame the American people into thinking illegal aliens and illegal immigration are not illegal. They are wrong.
The Trump Administration is working hard to put an end to illegal immigration and deport illegals and, thereby, returning the American Dream to Americans. As the Trump Administration succeeds in this effort watch our economy improve, job opportunities for American citizens increase, our crime rates go down and the quality of life of American citizens improve. Let’s see the media and lefties try to spin that.
(My latest book Fake News Exposed: 25 of the Worst Media Lies about Conservatives, Guns, COVID and Everything Else is available at Amazon. You may also pick up a copy of one of my other books at Amazon as well.)