Undocumented presence in the United States is a civil, not criminal, offense

Evidence

Many Americans—and many Christians as well—routinely associate immigrants and immigration with lawbreaking. One way this happens is through the labels we use. Calling undocumented immigrants illegal immigrants suggests an inherent criminality; only through physically leaving our nation would such immigrants cease to be criminals in our eyes. However, undocumented presence in the United States is a civil, not criminal, offense. — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 640

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘illegal immigrant’ label debate connects to chapter 5’s framework of how white-supremacist cultural frameworks get perpetuated through language choices. — connects to: Indiana immigrants could take the driver’s test but not study in their own language — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 687; Migrant illegality is legally produced and distinct from undocumented status — Junaid Rana, Terrifying Muslims: Race and Labor in…, 654; Immigration detention can imprison people who committed no crime — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 159 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Migrant illegality is legally produced and distinct from undocumented status #expands (0.82) — Junaid Rana, Terrifying Muslims, 654
• Migrant illegality is a state-produced subjectivity, not a natural condition #expands (0.80) — Junaid Rana, Terrifying Muslims, 656
• Immigration detention can imprison people who committed no crime #corroborates (0.78) — Moustafa Bayoumi, How Does It Feel to Be a Problem? Being…, 159
• The camp logic of suspended rights now generalizes across immigration and security law #complicates (0.75) — Sherene Razack, Casting Out, 139
• Legal migrants can be rendered illegal through social and cultural codes #complicates (0.75)
• The state benefits from illegality by manipulating migrant labor through it #complicates (0.73)
• States tacitly allow undocumented labor to avoid protecting migrants #corroborates (0.72)
• Migrant illegality in the Gulf is produced through law’s subversion, not law itself #complicates (0.72) — Junaid Rana, Terrifying Muslims, 713