MSNBC sparked backlash after Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) claimed on Sunday that illegal immigrants are not actually criminals. Crockett, who has gained notoriety for her combative style as a member of the progressive “Squad,” appeared on The Katie Phang Show on Saturday, where she told the MSNBC host that President Donald Trump and immigration authorities are unjustly arresting border crossers without cause.
“It is not a criminal violation to enter the country illegally,” she shouted in a clip circulating on X. “It’s not a criminal… crime! It’s not a crime!” Crockett claimed that the absence of federal laws explicitly criminalizing illegal immigration has “frustrated” Trump administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and White House border czar Tom Homan. “They really want our local law enforcement to go out and round up people when they could be looking out for the murderers and sexual abusers as well as the robbers. They want them to go out and round people up on civil accusations,” she added.
Of course, Crockett’s claims are patently false — and shame on Phang for refusing to correct her. Commentators quickly posted a “community note” on the video, a feature implemented by X owner Elon Musk that allows for factual corrections of misinformation.The note directed readers to 8 U.S.C. § 1325 which states that “any alien” who enters the U.S. without passing through immigration officers or deliberately misrepresenting facts about their immigration status may “be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.”
Phang, a lawyer, did not push back on Crockett’s claim, despite its factual inaccuracy. Progressives have long attempted to differentiate illegal immigration from other crimes, falsely asserting that unlawful entry into the U.S. is merely a civil violation. Homan, President Trump’s leading voice on immigration, has made it clear that anyone who enters the country illegally will be a priority for enforcement. “There’s consequences [for] entering the country illegally,” he told ABC News’ Martha Raddatz in January. “If we don’t show there’s consequences, you’re never going to fix the border problem.”
