Yahoo News Fact Check: Harris Once Said, 'An Undocumented Immigrant Is Not a Criminal'
Claim:
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris once said, "An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal."
Rating:
On Aug. 29, 2024, Elon Musk reposted an X post with the caption: "Please note that this is an actual statement from Kamala." Musk's post received more than 96.9 million views and 512,000 likes, as of this writing.
Please note that this is an actual statement from Kamala https://t.co/Os4I3cxE6C
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 29, 2024
The X post in question is indeed authentic; the official @KamalaHarris X account originally published it on April 21, 2017, as part of a longer thread on the topic of immigration and citizenship. The full thread is as follows:
An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.
Give people a path to citizenship. The vast majority of folks we're talking about are living a lawful life and paying taxes.
It's ludicrous to say we're going to deport 12 million people. Now how are you going to do that?
We are not a society that is going to stand for tearing families apart. We are not going to buy into this administration's fear mongering.
Musk responded to his own post with a follow-up:
(X user @elonmusk)
Several users responded to Musk saying that Harris was technically correct from a legal standpoint.
Harris's statement, "An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal," is generally correct from a legal standpoint.
Entering the US without proper documentation is a civil violation rather than a criminal offense. Being undocumented alone doesn't make someone a criminal.— Eva P (@Eva_eva_P) August 29, 2024
In sum, because the quote was authentic and the official @KamalaHarris X account posted it, we rate this claim as "Correct Attribution."
Sources:
Harris, Kamala. 'An Undocumented Immigrant Is Not a Criminal.' X.Com, 21 Apr. 2017, https://x.com/KamalaHarris/status/855566507526565888.
staff, C. N. N. 'READ: Harris and Walz's Exclusive Joint Interview with CNN | CNN Politics'. CNN, 30 Aug. 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/29/politics/harris-walz-interview-read-transcript/index.html.
