A migrant or refugee from another country who enters the U.S. illegally for the first time commits a misdemeanor under 8 U.S.C. § 1325 (cited below for the readers convenience.) Repeated illegal entries are felonies, however. This is an important area of law to the point I want to make in the “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.”
Findlaw explains the difference:
“A misdemeanor offense is a less serious crime than a felony offense. A felony offense is the most serious crime you can commit. A felony conviction comes with long prison sentences, fines, and potentially permanent loss of freedom. A misdemeanor conviction usually involves some jail time, smaller fines, and temporary punishments.”
At this moment in time (January 30, 2025) President Donald J. Trump has been convicted of 34 felony counts. Yet, he has ordered the arrest and deportation of not just illegal aliens with felonies themselves, but those who have only committed misdemeanor offenses. It is to this second group who have committed misdemeanors that I address this post.
In Matthew Chapter 18, verses 23-35 Jesus tells a parable, which I’ve included verbatim below, but which I’ll paraphrase to apply it to today’s circumstances, and may the Lord be merciful to me if I misappropriate it. In order to make it easier to follow, I’ll define the felony in monetary terms.
The synopsis of the parable as recast: A freeborn citizen (Citizen DJT) committed thirty-four felonies against a plaintiff (in this case, the People.) Usually today, the threshold to qualify as a felony is a thousand dollars—or more depending on the state–so this person stole at least $34k (or more) altogether from his government or some individual (depending on the injured party.)
The authorities dealt with the Citizen DJT mercifully, however, and released him from the requirement to make restitution and letting him go without prison time. That forgiven Citizen DJT then approached another individual (Servant) who had committed a single misdemeanor against the Citizen DJT (e.g., less than $1,000) and Citizen DJT demanded justice (full payment) without mercy. Jesus said that the person with the greater debt who was forgiven (i.e., absolved) from punishment and restitution then had a responsibility to forgive the person with the lesser debt. So, seeing as how our President is running the country as a convicted felon, escaping justice because of quirks in the law and a legal strategy that prolonged the proceedings unnecessarily, he goes free but then orders Servants with lesser offenses to be hunted down.
Now, I understand how it is possible to reduce an argument to the point that the point, itself, is not well taken. We’re talking about national policy and an elected official charged with enforcing (immigration) law. So, POTUS can (perhaps not unfairly) make the argument that his hands are tied. He has to go after them in order to enforce the law. Or, he’ll insist that he is not really personally a felon since he never does anything wrong–it’s always the other guy. That’s his narcissism. Yet, will those arguments sway God Almighty on Judgment Day, or will Jesus’ Parable of the Unforgiven Servant be the standard against which President Trump will be judged?
I wish I had a Jesuit education because there may be a flaw in my argument, in which case, I’m sure someone will point that out to me. It’s certainly a mess, however, and one that might have been avoided altogether if we made a difference choice on Election Day.
Again, what would Jesus say? What would Jesus say, Mr. Speaker? What would Jesus say, Mr. Graham?
8 U.S.C. § 1325
8 U.S.C. § 1325 – U.S. Code – Unannotated Title 8. Aliens and Nationality § 1325. Improper entry by alien
Current as of January 01, 2024
“(a) Improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection; misrepresentation and concealment of facts
Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, 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.
(b) Improper time or place; civil penalties
Any alien who is apprehended while entering (or attempting to enter) the United States at a time or place other than as designated by immigration officers shall be subject to a civil penalty of–
(1) at least $50 and not more than $250 for each such entry (or attempted entry); or
(2) twice the amount specified in paragraph (1) in the case of an alien who has been previously subject to a civil penalty under this subsection.
Civil penalties under this subsection are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any criminal or other civil penalties that may be imposed.
(c) Marriage fraud
Any individual who knowingly enters into a marriage for the purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or fined not more than $250,000, or both.“
THE PARABLE OF THE UNFORGIVING SERVANT
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
