Illegally Entering The Country vs. Being In The Country Illegally: A Worthy Legal Distinction?

Illegal Presence in US Not Necessarily A Crime, Court Says
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. A three-judge panel threw out an illegal immigrant's jail sentence, based on an apparent contradiction in U.S. law: While it is illegal to enter the country without the proper documents and permissions, it is not necessarily illegal to be in the country...