My son heard on the radio that in the United States they want to declare it a criminal act, for an alien to be in the United States without documentation, or something of the sort. He asked: "Wasn't it a criminal act, already?" To the best of my knowledge, I answered that I assume that aliens can be thrown out of the country for being there without a permit, but that they can't be otherwise prosecuted and thrown into prison. Is the news he heard correct? Is this my understanding of the situation correct?
My son heard this news in Spanish; would the word "felony" be used in English?
TIA,
Hilmar.
Difference in opinions hath cost many millions of lives: for instance, whether flesh be bread, or bread be flesh; whether whistling be a vice or a virtue; whether it be better to kiss a post, or throw it into the fire... (from Gulliver's Travels)