Posted on 04/27/2008 8:56:09 PM PDT by Eric Blair 2084
Immigrants and their advocates today found an unlikely ally: the top law enforcement officer in New Jersey.
"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.
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
“Being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime,”
WRONG !
Christie is usually a good man ..what happened to him ?
The world’s gone mad.
Talk about being stuck on stupid! This idiot is the top federal lawman in New Jersey! He is a big part of the reason we’re in the situation we are in now. Failure to enforce the law for so long has morphed itself into an out and out denial that the law even exists!
Over-staying a properly obtained visa would seem to avoid the scope of the provisions of the law that you cited and so seems not to be criminal but rather an administrative infraction of rules. However sneaking into the country with no valid visa would seem to be criminal. DO ANY OTHER LAWS APPLY???
"Being in a Bank's Vault without proper documentation is not a crime," Christie told more than 60 residents and town officials. "The whole phrase of 'Bank Robber' connotes that the person, by just being there, is committing a crime."Rather, the state's top federal prosecutor called the problem of undocumented bank withdrawals "an administrative matter"...
Moron.
I’m not sure, I’ll look into it.
But his statement, “”Being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime,” is wrong. For some (perhaps the example you pointed out) it may not be, but for others it is a crime, so this statement is wrong.
I think it was Hillary who said to a woman who identified herself as an illegal, that no person is an illegal.
Sure, there are some exceptions, but this statement, “Being in this country without proper documentation is not a crime,” is wrong. There may be some to whom this statement applies, but to others it does not, and for a person who supposed to enforce this statute to say this is ridiculous and he should be dealt with accordingly.
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