Section 1325 sets forth criminal offenses relating to (1) improper entry into the United States by an alien, (2) entry into marriage for the purpose of evading immigration laws, and (3)establishing a commercial enterprise for the purpose of evading immigration laws. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) amended 8 U.S.C. § 1325 to provide that an alien apprehended while entering or attempting to enter the United States at a time or place other than as designated by immigration officers shall be subject to a civil penalty.

Honoring Our Commitment

Caring For Our Nation’s Veterans

Beto's plan for honoring our veterans by investing in them at home, and ending wars abroad.

Every year, young women and men leave Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas to serve our country overseas, some sent to fight in “forever wars” that started before they were born. And every year, many others return home to an El Paso VA where they must seek care for the mental and physical trauma they have sustained.

A lifelong El Pasoan, Beto has always understood that we must pay any price, and bear any burden, to support all those who have worn the uniform and keep America safe. That is why, as soon as he became a member of the House of Representatives in 2013, he brought El Paso’s voice and values to the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Over his three terms in Congress, Beto did not spend a single day in the majority. And yet, he distinguished himself as a leading advocate for veterans—successfully expediting the veterans’ disability claims process, extending emergency mental health care to veterans with Other-Than-Honorable discharges, and improving the staffing and functioning at the El Paso VA facility.

These laws are already saving lives, but Beto recognizes that our work is far from done. An average of 20 veterans and servicemembers die by suicide every day. And countless veterans have come home from generations of wars, only to struggle with PTS, find themselves in the grips of addiction, or end up living on the streets.

Our country can do better. And we must.

That is why Beto is unveiling a new, comprehensive plan to improve the services we provide to veterans all across America, which he will push on Day One and beyond, with the same tenacity he did as a Member of Congress. Beto’s plan is built around a four-part framework:

1. End the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Reinvest the Savings in Veterans

2. Invest in Building a State-of-the-Art Veterans Affairs Health Care System

3. Provide All Veterans with Equal Treatment

4. Ensure Veterans Can Succeed When They Come Home

Strong showings for Beto O'Rourke and Kamala Harris

Of the throng of candidates who came to South Carolina, O'Rourke may have had the best weekend.

Clyburn praised the former congressman from Texas on Friday night, saying his live-stream of a 2016 sit-in at the U.S. House of Representatives helped set the stage for the Democratic takeover of the chamber last year.

On Saturday afternoon, O'Rourke entered the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center with scores of youthful supporters chanting his name and clanging cow bells. Instead of taking the stage like other candidates, he gave his speech standing amid those supporters.

O'Rourke focused on the plight of children who have been caught up in Trump's effort to stem illegal immigration on the Mexican border.

“In my hometown of El Paso, in a border patrol detention center, there are children sleeping on cold concrete floors with aluminum foil for blankets," he said.

Allen said he heard positive reviews of the speech that Harris gave at the convention Saturday morning. A former prosecutor, she is a first-term U.S. senator from California.

"We have in this White House a president who says he wants to make America great again. But what does that mean?" Harris asked.

"Does that mean he wants to take us back to before schools were integrated? Does that mean he wants to take us back before the Voting Rights Act was enacted? Does that mean he wants to take us back before the Civil Rights Act was enacted? Does he mean he wants to take us back before Roe v. Wade was enacted?"