I did not go to law school, but I believe that John's point is that simply being here without permission is a PROCESS offense, not a crime, and one cannot be prosecuted and imprisoned for that alone. It is the same as being in a country without your passport stamped or being there without a passport. You are detained and deported for that - but not prosecuted.


"If American democracy ceases to move forward as a living force, seeking day and night by peaceful means to better the lot of our citizens, fascism will grow in strength in our land." - Franklin D Roosevelt, Nov 4, 1938.