Felony Charges A Non-Issue

There are two issues here, one displays how ridiculous the immigration debate is being couched. The other is simply my opinion.

I don't care about immigration violations being elevated to felonies. As it stands, it is a misdemeanor. That, in a word, is illegal - it doesn't need to mean anything more than that. But here is the real rub and the obfuscation within that element of the greater debate.

Do you realize that this has absolutely nothing to do with any of the immigrants, illegal or otherwise recently marching in our streets? Were one to ever come to trial, it is quite apparent that at the time they entered the country the violation was a misdemeanor. And I doubt very seriously if any judge would permit them to be charged as felons, given that the crime was not elevated to such a level until after they had initially violated the law by entering the country.

The two top Republicans in Congress, confronted with internal party divisions as well as large public demonstrations, said Tuesday they intend to pass immigration legislation that does not subject illegal immigrants to prosecution as felons. story here

There may be some legal issues around it, I'm not an attorney. But I do believe that's about how it would turn out. So, what are the implications of that? When that panderer Kennedy tells a street crowded with immigrants, illegal or otherwise, that Republicans are intent on making them felons, he is clearly misrepresenting the truth. And the MSM is fostering that great lie with their reporting. No illegal immigrant in the US today is likely to ever be charged as a felon. They would be charged with the law that was on the books when they first perpetrated the crime of illegally entering the country. The now off the table felony status would likely have applied only to those arriving after passage, which could have been a year or more away.

Sadly, little if any of the reporting around the illegal immigration is being done very well. How is it we are supposed to have a representative democracy when a critical institution, a free press, continues to fail us so miserably in reporting accurate information?

Comments

[splashtc]

Hence the success of blogs.

[heheh]

You are right about the ex post facto nature of the increased criminalization of being an illegal alien. We have to take the attraction out of coming here illegally. First and foremost, we should bolster the penalty for hiring these folks. And I mean make it a felony to do so. Perhaps, that would put a dent in the problem. IMO.

[tester]

that would be an enormous number of people who would instantly be performing felonies.