Thread: N.J.: Christie: Illegal immigrants aren't criminals

Christie: Illegal immigrants aren't criminals
U.S. attorney speaks at Dover church forum
Monday, April 28, 2008
BY JULIE O'CONNOR
Star-Ledger Staff

Immigrants and their advocates yesterday found an unlikely ally: the top law enforcement officer in New Jersey.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie surprised many at a Dover church public forum when he said sneaking into the United States is not a criminal act.

"Being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime," Christie told more than 60 residents and town officials. "The whole phrase of 'illegal immigrant' connotes that the person, by just being here, is committing a crime."

Being undocumented may be a civil wrong, but it's not a criminal act, Christie said.

"Don't let people make you believe that that's a crime that the U.S. Attorney's Office should be doing something about," he added of entering the country illegally. "It is not."

After touching on the usual topics of his corruption-busting career and battles against gang violence, Christie fielded questions -- mostly on immigration issues -- from Morris County residents and community leaders in an open forum that at times grew heated.

The U.S. attorney had been invited by the local chapter of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey, a statewide group formed to empower Latinos to obtain political, economic and social equity, and hosted by the First United Methodist Church of Dover.

While Christie told the audience it doesn't take a "genius" to see there's a "serious immigration problem" in this country, he stressed an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal unless that person re-enters the country after being deported.

Rather, the state's top federal prosecutor called the problem of undocumented immigration "an administrative matter" that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is supposed to address.

"If there are people out there committing crimes, they should be dealt with," Christie said. "If there are undocumented people running around, then Immigration and Customs Enforcement should do their jobs."

The U.S. attorney said he supports more secure U.S. borders -- "first and foremost from the terrorism perspective" -- but added that "certain leaders around the state that have demagogued on this issue" are "ill-informed."

In August 2007, Christie had engaged in verbal battle with Morristown Mayor Donald Cresitello, whom the U.S. attorney has accused of "hyperbole and grandstanding and demagoguery" for calling some protesters at a local immigration rally Marxists and Communists.

That kind of language is not helpful, Christie reiterated yesterday.

Cresitello had said the protesters he was referring to identified themselves as Communists, waving red flags and holding signs that bore socialist slogans. In turn, the Morristown mayor had accused Christie of failing to uphold federal laws that ban the hiring and harboring of undocumented immigrants.

But Christie pointed to a new policy directive by state Attorney General Anne Milgram, who had ordered local officers to check the immigration status of all suspects charged with serious crimes or drunken driving.

Milgram's announcement was made in the wake of the Newark schoolyard killings, in which an illegal immigrant has been charged.

Christie, a Republican appointed in 2002 by President Bush's administration, has secured more than 100 corruption convictions in his office -- including former Newark Mayor Sharpe James this month on fraud and conspiracy charges after a four-year federal probe.

Yesterday was a chance for members of the Latino community to get a sense of how they might connect with his office and respond to immigration issues in their towns, organizers said.

"The issue of undocumented people didn't start with the Mexicans, the Colombians and the Guatemalans," Martin Perez, the alliance's president, said in his introduction. "It started with the Mayflower -- none of those people had any documents."

www.nj.com

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Newark U.S. Attorney's Office
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Main number: 973-645-2700

Camden U.S. Attorney's Office
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FYI:

http://www.americanpatrol.com/REFERENCE/isacrime.html

And then of course there's identity theft etc.

Niether is walking into a bank and walking over to the vault and taking money and walking out.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie apparently does not understand the law and needs to be FIRED.

Under Title 8 Section 1325 of the U.S. Code, "Improper Entry by Alien," any citizen of any country other than the United States who:

* Enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers; or
* Eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers; or
* Attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact; has committed a federal crime.

Violations are punishable by criminal fines and imprisonment for up to six months. Repeat offenses can bring up to two years in prison. Additional civil fines may be imposed at the discretion of immigration judges, but civil fines do not negate the criminal sanctions or nature of the offense.

"Being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime," Christie told more than 60 residents and town officials. "The whole phrase of 'illegal immigrant' connotes that the person, by just being here, is committing a crime."

Being undocumented may be a civil wrong, but it's not a criminal act, Christie said.

bigtex wrote:

Violations are punishable by criminal fines and imprisonment for up to six months. Repeat offenses can bring up to two years in prison. Additional civil fines may be imposed at the discretion of immigration judges, but civil fines do not negate the criminal sanctions or nature of the offense.

Thank you.

Top federal prosecutor in NJ: Being undocumented not a crime
April 28, 2008

DOVER, N.J. - New Jersey's top federal prosecutor told a Latino group it's a civil offense _ not a crime _ for immigrants to live in the country without proper documentation, a comment that a spokesman later said was aimed at a narrowly worded question.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, widely considered to be a leading GOP contender for governor next year, spoke Sunday in response to a question on illegal immigration at an open forum that grew heated. He said living in the U.S. without immigration paperwork is "an administrative matter" that federal immigration officials are supposed to address through deportation.

"Don't let people make you believe that that's a crime that the U.S. attorney's office should be doing something about," Christie was quoted as saying in The Star-Ledger of Newark for Monday editions. "It is not."

Christie stressed that lacking immigration documents is not a crime unless the person was previously deported.

Critics quickly categorized Christie's remarks as soft on illegal immigration.

In a statement clarifying the remarks, Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said that although lacking documents is not necessarily a crime in itself, it is a federal misdemeanor to enter the country without going through the proper immigration channels, or to enter by using fraudulent documents.

Christie "did not say, nor did he mean, that entering this country through any means other than the appropriate immigration channels is a lawful act. It is not," Drewniak said in a statement.

An immigrant could be in the country illegally without making an illegal entry or using fraudulent documents if he or she overstayed a visa.

Christie, who was appointed by President Bush in 2001, made the remarks during a community forum organized by the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey.

He told the audience it doesn't take a "genius" to see there's a serious immigration problem in this country and that the U.S. needs tighter border security.

"If there are people out there committing crimes, they should be dealt with," he said. "If there are undocumented people running around, then Immigration and Customs Enforcement should do their jobs."

Edward Correa, a member of the Latino Leadership Alliance, said the dozens of people who attended Christie's speech had a mixed reaction to his comments.

In 2005, U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner introduced legislation to criminalize any undocumented status. Though the attempt was unsuccessful, it triggered massive pro-immigrant marches across the nation.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ ... 8787.story

Christie: Being undocumented not a crime for all immigrants
Posted By: Carolyn Hileman - The Voice* on April 28, 2008

DOVER, N.J. (AP) _ Comments by U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie that it is not necessarily a crime for immigrants to live in the country without proper documentation are drawing fire a day after he spoke at a New Jersey church.

In response to a question on immigration at a Dover church on Sunday, Christie explained that it is only a civil offense _ not a criminal offense _ to live in the United States without immigration paperwork.

Christie made the remarks during a community forum organized by the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey.
“Being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime,â€

Thanks for the above post and list Zeezil. It's good to have this information at the ready.

I suppose Christie called Johnny Sutton before he went to the meeting.

SOB should not be in office if he debases America's rule of law.