Becoming Legal

    The term "illegal immigrants" refers to people who are in the U.S. without official federal immigration status.  People become "illegal" in one of two ways:

        (1) Some people cross the border without being processed by U.S. government officials.  People usually do this from Mexico.  They may be Mexican or they may be from other countries and have traveled to Mexico to make the crossing.  People usually take out loans to pay a guide (called a "coyote") from $3000 to $10,000 or more to be led across.  The trips are dangerous, often involving 2 to 4 days of walking across the desert or being locked into closed compartments of trucks and vehicles.  Sometimes people are tricked or abandoned by the "coyotes."  About 10 people die each week attempting to cross into the United States.

    (2)  Some people enter legally with a visa but stay beyond the period of time allowed under immigration law.   Some of these people planned from the very beginning on overstaying and obtained the visa under false pretenses, for example, claiming they wanted to visit just for tourism.  Other people come with honest intentions but encounter unexpected circumstances.  A person, for example, may enter on a fiancee visa to marry a U.S. citizen and the citizen may then decide not to get married.  People who enter with valid visas are said to have been "inspected" by U.S. government officials.

    Being in the U.S. illegally is not a crime but a violation of civil law.  (Another example of a civil law violation would be failing to provide proper handicapped access to a building that is open to the public.)

    Illegal immigrants in the U.S., like any other aliens, may have immigration petitions filed for them to become permanent legal residents (to get a green card).  For example, a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident who marries an illegal immigrant may file a petition for the immigrant to get a green card.

    Persons who legally entered the U.S. may be able to live and work here during the immigration process.  Persons who entered illegally, however, usually must leave.  The rules are as follows:

Use of the Courts by Illegal Immigrants

    In the U.S., there are federal laws and state laws.  Immigration is an area of federal law.  State law covers most areas of the law that people deal with from day to day.

    Divorce and custody, car accidents and other personal injury claims, work accidents, the purchase and sale of real estate, the rental of property, wills and inheritance issues, most crimes, and the setting up of corporations and limited liability companies are all handled largely by state law.  In cases involving these and other areas of state law, it does not matter whether a person is a U.S. citizen, a permanent legal resident, or an illegal immigrant.

    The U.S. Constitution prohibits states from passing laws in areas that belong to the federal government.  Connecticut, for example, cannot print its own money and declare that federal money cannot be used within the state.  The Constitution also prohibits the federal government from passing laws in areas that belong to the states.  The U.S. Congress, for example, cannot pass a law saying that people must go to Washington, D.C. to get divorced.

    Because of the difference between federal law and state law, and because of the rights granted by the U.S. Constitution to "persons," people in Connecticut who are illegal immigrants have the same rights to use the Connecticut courts as do U.S. citizens.

    All people in Connecticut, including Illegal immigrants, have the following rights:

Constitutional Rights of Illegal Immigrants

    The U.S. Constitution prohibits states, and the cities and towns within the states, from passing laws that violate people's constitutional rights.

    In certain places, the U.S. Constitution talks about "citizens."  In other places, it talks about "persons."  For example, the 14th Amendment says, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."  Because the Constitution uses the word "person" instead of "citizen" when speaking about depriving life, liberty or property without due process and when speaking about equal protection, this has been taken to mean that all persons  — citizens, legal residents, temporary visitors and illegal immigrants  — have these rights.  Connecticut, for example, cannot pass a law that says a woman's testimony is sufficient to prove a rape case if she is a citizen but if she is not a citizen then she needs witnesses.

    Some cities have passed laws to discourage illegal immigrants from living or working within the city.  In July 2007, a federal court recently overturned a law passed in Hazelton, Pennsylvania, which required people to prove they were citizens or legal residents before they could rent an apartment.  The court said that the city could not pass that type of law because only the federal government could make laws about immigration and because the law violated the immigrants' Constitutional rights to due process.

Protection for Illegal Immigrants Who Are Victims of Crimes

    The U.S. immigration service recently issued rules that will allow some illegal immigrants who are victims of crimes and who are cooperating with law enforcement officials to get a special visa that will allow them to live and work in the U.S. for up to 4 years.

    Examples of crime victims who may be able to qualify for this visa are persons who have been attacked by their spouses, persons who have been made to work under conditions that are criminally illegal, and persons who have been assaulted during robberies.

    There are 4 requirements to qualify for this visa:

    The application for this visa must include a form filled out by a law enforcement official that explains the help that the victim is giving or probably will give.

    The victim can include the following family members in the immigration application:

    There will be 10,000 of these special visas available each year for crime victims.

    Although the visa will be good for a maximum of 4 years, extensions will be permitted if the law enforcement agency certifies that the victim’s presence in the U.S. is necessary to for the investigation or prosecution of the crime.

    A crime victim that qualifies for this special visas may become a permanent resident (get a green card) if:

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Please note that our website is designed to provide only general legal information.

This information is not intended to apply to individual cases.