Subject: Re: ICE IS CLEANING UP MINNESOTA
What part of illegal don’t you understand? The governments objective is to go after the really
bad illegals first, but an illegal alien is just that, illegal ie: a criminal.

First, not all illegal aliens are criminals. Some 30-40% or so entered the country legally. Being in the country without authorization is not a criminal violation; only the act of crossing the border unlawfully is actually a crime. And about 10% of illegal border crossers came as children, who almost certainly lacked the agency in their crossing decision to be criminals.

Second, not all penalties are appropriate or proportional for all criminals.

We don't execute people for shoplifting, even though a shoplifter is just as much a criminal as a mass murderer. Because the law recognizes proportionality as a very important value of a penal system. Even for criminals. Most of the folks who vigorously object to the Administration's policy do so because they believe that deportation is a disproportionately severe penalty for someone who has not committed any crimes apart from their entry, and thus present no risk (and perhaps very little culpability).

So, no. Not every illegal alien is a criminal. And reasonable minds can differ about whether the sanction of being deported is appropriate for even criminal aliens who have otherwise been well-behaved.