Migrant felons

Since January 2025 more than 1.6 million illegal migrants have voluntarily left the country and 527,000 have been legally deported and 75,000 of those have no felony record. This means their only crime was crossing the border illegally but this can lead to serious consequences. Here is the law. Crossing the U.S. border without authorization is a violation of federal law, considered a misdemeanor for a first offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1325, leading to penalties like fines, jail time, and removal, while subsequent illegal re-entry is a felony, with severe consequences and potential permanent bars from the U.S.. While living in the U.S. without documents is generally a civil matter, the act of crossing without inspection (at a place other than a port of entry) is a federal crime. This means that got a ways (inadmissible encounters) are felons FISCAL YEAR 2024 ENDS WITH NEARLY 3 MILLION INADMISSIBLE ENCOUNTERS, 10.8 MILLION TOTAL ENCOUNTERS SINCE FY2021 Once the felons are deported the government can set a road to citizenship for those who remain, since they will be needed to fill jobs as the manufacturing base returns.