[andrewla]

Also, in the interest of clarifying the conversation, the term "illegal immigrant" in the US is used somewhat loosely to refer to two distinct groups.

One is people who committed the crime of "illegal entry" -- they smuggled themselves into the country somehow.

The other group, much more common, is people who visited legally (on a tourist or other visa) but have stayed, in violation of their visa.

It's a mistake to think of the second group as criminals in the technical sense -- they have not committed a criminal offense, only a civil offense. It would be like saying that everyone who exceeds the posted speed limits is a criminal "with no regard for the law".