Although crossing the border illegally is a federal crime, many immigrants legally entered the U.S. with visas and illegally overstayed them, which is not a crime but a civil offense. Likewise, illegal presence in the U.S. is not a criminal offense but a civil one. These facts don’t lend credence to the claims of U.S. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D–WA), who asserts that it is factually incorrect to use the term “illegal aliens” because “undocumented presence in the U.S. is not a criminal offense.” Contrary to Jayapal, legal dictionaries explain that it is “wrong to equate illegality with criminality, since many illegal acts are not criminal.”