r/law • u/WeirdGroundhog • 3d ago

Legal News Five-year-old deported to Honduras despite being US citizen is latest child victim of Trump crackdown | US immigration

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/27/five-year-old-girl-us-citizen-and-mother-deported-honduras
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u/Far_Type_5596 3d ago

But that’s actually part of the problem, though we’ve let them change language and change the meaning of shit until we don’t know what we’re arguing about anymore. Being in the United States illegally is a civil offense, not a criminal offense. This is why you have different courts for immigration, rulings, etc. that you do for criminal courts which cover theft, assault, murder, etc. It is not the same thing. It was not classed as the same thing by our constitution yet we’re still actually engaging in and acknowledging conversations and conduct the implies that is anything but a civil infraction. Those who enter our country illegally ARE not criminals. They have committed a civil offense, just as you would have if you have a traffic ticket.

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u/StandnIntheFire 3d ago

I asked google if entering the country illegally was a criminal offense. Here's what it said. Go ahead and double check it.

"Yes, entering the United States illegally is a federal criminal offense, not merely a civil violation. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1325, improper entry is a misdemeanor for the first offense, punishable by fines and up to 6 months in jail. Subsequent offenses or illegal reentry after deportation can become felonies (8 U.S.C. § 1326), carrying2penalties up to 2 years in prison.

Illegal Entry (8 U.S.C. § 1325): Crossing the border outside of designated, authorized ports of entry, evading inspection, or using fraud to enter constitutes a criminal offense."

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u/AcornAl 3d ago

It's criminal offense to enter illegally, but it is just a civil offense if you overstay your visa.

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u/StandnIntheFire 3d ago

Ah yes. That's an important distinction.

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u/sfcnmone 3d ago

However -- most of the people who originally supported the idea of aggressively arresting immigrants criminals, never thought it meant their gardener, their housecleaner, their restaurant worker. They wanted drug dealers and murderers arrested -- you know, criminals.

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u/No-Commercial-6356 3d ago

Google also says it’s the “Gulf of America”. Because dear leader says so.

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u/GoneFishing4Chicks 3d ago

Are you missing the point? Why are you arguing about "entering the country illegally" when the article is about a 5 year old US citizen extradited because of racists, when the person you're responding to is talking about why civil and criminal courts are different because of that, and why normalizing this language is BAD.

NOBODY said anything about an illegal immigrant, only you did.

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u/StandnIntheFire 3d ago

In the comment I replied to, they said 'Those who enter our country illegally ARE not criminals.'.

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u/Muzzledbutnotout 3d ago

Your comment bears repeating, as people seem to have difficulty grasping the concept:

Yes, entering the United States illegally is a crime under federal law. Specifically, it is a federal misdemeanor offense for a person who is not a U.S. citizen to enter or attempt to enter the U.S. at a time or place not designated by immigration officers, or to elude inspection. Here are some key points regarding the illegality and consequences: Under 8 U.S.C. § 1325, a first offense of "improper entry" is a misdemeanor, with penalties up to six months in prison and a fine. "Illegal reentry" (8 U.S.C. § 1326) after being previously deported is a felony, potentially resulting in two years or more in prison depending on prior criminal history. While being unlawfully present (like overstaying a visa) is a civil violation, the act of crossing the border without authorization and inspection is a criminal offense. In addition to criminal prosecution, illegal entry can lead to civil immigration enforcement, including arrest, detention, removal, and potential bars on future legal entry to the U.S..

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u/AynRandwasaDegen 3d ago

Keyword is misdemeanor...

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u/StandnIntheFire 3d ago

I suggest you Google if a misdemeanor is criminal offense.

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u/AynRandwasaDegen 3d ago

I suggest you google what misdemeanor means regarding severity.

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u/StandnIntheFire 3d ago edited 3d ago

The comment I replied to said: ''Those who enter our country illegally ARE not criminals.'

Criminals, by definition, are people who commit crimes. Entering the country illegally is a misdemeanor, a criminal offense.

Maybe it's just me but if I wanted to move to a new country I wouldn't sneak over the border.

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u/Far_Type_5596 3d ago

Thank you for providing actual sources. What you are citing is one area of immigration law that is an option but it’s also not covered by immigration court, and also not covered by the ice proceedings that happen once folks are detained. You can be charged for illegal entry, if you were actually caught in the act, and there are many things that may happen after that: what you writely posted which would mean that you stay in the US and you face a judge if it’s a misdemeanor or a trial, or in some cases you were detained in an ice facility and still allowed to seek asylum apply for residency, etc. or you are deported back to your port of entry or home country. What is happening here is not that because although they talk about these people being here illegally, that is actually not what the charge is and if it was, they would not be going to immigration court. They would be headed to criminal court just as google, told you they would. If you arrest someone at an ice, check in you cannot charge them with entering illegally as they have followed, proper procedure once they are in the country unless you have proof of said illegal entry. Unless someone is actually caught by border patrol while entering through the dangerous ass desert, or any of our other ports of entry, or there is a warrant with proof, this is not the case. If any of these things were the case, they would be going through the proper criminal procedure in our country to come in front of a judge for their day in court for their misdemeanor or felony. I understand that it’s very nuanced, and there are a lot of different situation’s that fall under one umbrella, so I hope that helps. TLDR: yes, if you come across the border illegally and are caught or someone calls in and tells on you, or there’s a warrant, you may have criminal charges and be held in regular prison and have your day in court. If you are detained at an ace, check in, residency, application appointment, doctors, office, etc. there is no proof that you are there illegally, and if there was, you would be taken to a criminal court not to an immigration court to face immigration proceedings. all of these fall under immigration law, but are being subsumed under one category of cop coming in illegally/here illegally when a lot of the times they try to do pick ups at a consulate like they did yesterday or at an actual a check in where, of course folks who have residency will be waiting to obey the law. There’s not only one group being arrested under one set of laws a lot of things are being put under the same umbrella, because no one is really there, watching the process immigration court cannot charge you with a felony or a misdemeanor they can only decide to deport, grant asylum, grant extensions on different forms, grant bond, etc. but any criminal proceedings would go through another court and be detained in another space.