Being in the United States without status is a civil violation, not a crime. And a large share of undocumented people never crossed a border unlawfully at all — they arrived on a valid visa and stayed.

Immigration law draws a line most people never hear about. Unlawful presence is a civil violation, handled in administrative immigration courts, not criminal courts. It carries no jail sentence. Improper entry is a separate thing — a federal misdemeanor under 8 U.S.C. § 1325, the lowest tier of federal offense, comparable to trespassing.

That distinction is why immigration detention is legally classified as civil, not punitive. It is also why the people held in it have no right to a government-appointed lawyer, even though the government is represented in every hearing. Children appear in immigration court without counsel.

And a very large share of undocumented people did not cross a border at all. Roughly 40 percent — by some analyses a majority of new arrivals to the undocumented population every year since 2007 — entered the country legally through an airport with a valid visa and remained after it expired. There was no fence, no coyote, no desert. There was a lapsed date.

"Illegal is illegal" is a sentence that ends the conversation without describing anything. The country decides all the time which violations warrant a fine, which warrant a court date, and which warrant separating a parent from their kids. That is a choice, not a definition.