There is no such thing as an ‘illegal immigrant’

On January 29, the newly inaugurated Trump administration held its first official White House press briefing. A reporter in the front row posed a question: “Of the 3,500 arrests made by ICE since President Trump returned to office, could you clarify the numbers? How many of those arrested had a criminal record versus those who were simply undocumented?”

Karoline Leavitt, the new White House press secretary, made her debut with a response that quickly made waves: “All of them,” she said. “Because they have broken our nation’s immigration laws, and in this administration’s view, that makes them criminals.” She added, “I understand that the previous administration saw things differently, but this is a cultural shift—we now recognize that anyone violating immigration laws is a criminal.”

Her remarks were met with enthusiasm in conservative media circles. Right-wing commentators and organizations celebrated her response, using fire, bullseye, and mic drop emojis to express their approval.

However, her statement was entirely false. Completely inaccurate. A blatant lie.

This administration insists on equating undocumented immigrants with lawbreakers and, by extension, criminals. But this claim collapses under scrutiny.

First and foremost, no human being is inherently “illegal.” Nobel laureate and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel famously pointed out that calling a person “illegal” is a contradiction—people can be just or unjust, but they cannot be illegal. An action may be unlawful, but a person’s existence is not.

Second, beyond the language, the right-wing narrative also misrepresents the law. As the ACLU has pointed out, merely being present in the U.S. without documentation is not a crime under federal law. Illegal entry is classified as a misdemeanor under 8 U.S. Code § 1325, carrying civil penalties rather than criminal ones. Only repeat offenders—those who re-enter after being deported—can face felony charges under 8 U.S. Code § 1326.

Additionally, nearly half of undocumented immigrants never entered the country unlawfully in the first place. Many arrived on valid visas for work, study, or travel but overstayed for various reasons.

Put simply, under U.S. law, being undocumented does not equate to being a criminal. Even the Supreme Court affirmed this in its 2012 ruling in Arizona v. United States, stating: “As a general rule, it is not a crime for a removable alien to remain in the United States.”

Not. A. Crime.

Third, conservative rhetoric frequently portrays undocumented immigrants as criminals, but there is little evidence to support this. Earlier this year, the Trump administration claimed Guantánamo Bay would be used to detain the "worst of the worst" immigrants. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem declared that “criminal alien murderers, rapists, child predators, and gang members” were being sent there. However, it was later revealed that roughly one-third of these individuals had no criminal record.

In another instance, the administration deported nearly 300 individuals to El Salvador, branding them “illegal foreign terrorists” and “dangerous criminals.” Yet, ICE later admitted in court that “many” had no prior criminal history. Some were reportedly targeted for nothing more than having tattoos. Just this week, officials admitted in a court filing that a Maryland father with legal status had been wrongfully deported due to an administrative mistake.

Despite its fixation on linking immigrants to crime, the administration has consistently failed to back up its claims with facts. Research overwhelmingly shows that immigrants, including undocumented ones, commit crimes at lower rates than native-born citizens. As immigration expert Aaron Reichlin-Melnick put it, “Statistically speaking, you’re safer in a town full of undocumented immigrants than one full of average native-born citizens.”

So why don’t more liberals—and elected Democrats in particular—push back against this misinformation? Why don’t they challenge the misleading language and false legal claims? And if they won’t do it now, when an extremist administration is rounding up innocent people and deporting them under flimsy pretenses, then when?

It’s long past time for liberals to make the facts clear: There is no such thing as an “illegal immigrant.” Being undocumented does not mean being a criminal. And immigration does not drive crime rates higher—no matter how much the right-wing narrative tries to claim otherwise.

Source: The Guardian