Illegal Presence in US Not a Crime, Court Says -- 08/21/2007

Illegal Presence in US Not a Crime, Court Says -- 08/21/2007: " Illegal Presence in US Not a Crime, Court Says By Jeff Golimowski CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer August 21, 2007 (2nd Add: Includes comments from Janine Cox of the Kansas Appellate Defender's Office.) (CNSNews.com) - If you can get past the border guards and into the United States, you're no longer violating the law, according to a Kansas Court of Appeals decision. The ruling comes after an illegal immigrant, Nicholas Martinez, was sentenced to a year in jail after pleading guilty to possession of cocaine and endangering a child. Court documents say Martinez was caught in an undercover sting by detectives in Barton County, Kansas (about 120 miles northwest of Wichita), using his young son to help sell cocaine."