Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on continued claims about undocumented immigrants and their legal status.  There is a growing misrepresentation of the status issues that are deeply concerning.  While undocumented status can be treated as a civil matter, it is also a criminal matter when a person enters the country illegally.  Some politicians and commentators have been stating simply that all undocumented persons are non-criminals while others have suggested that persons are “perfectly legal” if they claim asylum even if they entered illegally.  The point is that not all such persons should be treated criminally, but rather these statements can be dangerously misleading for families considering an illegal crossing.  The Trump Administration has shifted enforcement toward greater criminal than civil enforcement.  As for asylum claims, they are not the majority of illegal entries but the numbers are clearly rising.  We are required under international law to consider such applications, but that does not mean that the entry was lawful or that such cases cannot raise risks of criminal enforcement.  With so many lives at risk, we need to be more accurate in how we describe the legal realities of illegal entry.