Hon. Bill Blair at the Public Safety and National Security Committee

I would like to clarify, if I may. When a person enters this country, regardless of whether they do it at a point of entry or irregularly, and makes a claim for asylum, their presence in the country ceases to be illegal. I wanted to clarify that for you, because you kept referring to them as illegals once in the country, but the reality is that once they've made an asylum claim—