Con

“Dangerous immigration legislation is pending in Congress. Under current law, presence in the United States without valid status is a civil violation, not a criminal act. HR 4437 would create a new federal crime of ‘unlawful presence’ and would define immigration violations so broadly as to effectively include every violation, however minor, technical or unintentional, as a federal crime.

In addition to permanently barring the entire undocumented population – including 1.6 million children – from the United States, this would also lead to the tragic separation of families as undocumented members of mixed-status families would never be able to secure lawful immigration status in the United States.”

Dec. 23, 2005