Following two Colorado Media Matters items, the Rocky Mountain News on September 13 corrected an August 30 chart describing U.S. House and Senate immigration reform legislation that inaccurately stated “illegal presence” in the United States is a misdemeanor.

Compiled by reporter Laura Frank, the chart inaccurately stated that the House bill "[m]akes being in the United States without authorization a felony. Currently, it is a misdemeanor." The chart also inaccurately stated the House bill "[w]ould change illegal presence in the country from a misdemeanor to a felony." However, as the News acknowledged in its September 13 correction, under current law, illegal presence is not a criminal offense; it is a civil offense punishable by civil sanctions and deportation.

From the September 13 Rocky Mountain News:

“A chart on Page 22A on August 30 detailing the differences among congressional immigration reform plans should have said that illegal presence in the U.S. is a civil offense.”

As Colorado Media Matters noted August 30, the News chart compared what it claimed was current immigration law to a provision in a 2005 House immigration bill that would make illegal presence in the United States a felony. While it is true that the House bill would attach felony penalties to an illegal alien's unlawful presence in the United States, current law does not, as the News claimed, subject those who are illegally present in the United States to criminal penalties, either misdemeanor or felony.

According to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months of imprisonment to enter the United States illegally. However, the INA provides no such criminal penalties for the estimated 11 million immigrants who are illegally present in the country.

On September 7, Colorado Media Matters noted that the News had failed to correct the error, a week after the chart's initial publication.