House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says crossing the Rio Grande into the United States shouldn't be a crime. (Photo: Screen violation)

(CNSNews.com) - The Speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday said it shouldn't be a crime to cross into the United States illegally.

"It shouldn’t be a crime to have a visa -– to have a status violation. If somebody commits a crime or is guilty of a crime, and they’re in our country, prosecutorial discretion would warrant that they, or justify that they be sent away," Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told a news conference.

"But you just cannot say -- and there’s a disagreement -- that anybody coming across the border is breaking the law. Not until there’s been a determination as to whether they can stay or not. But just because they’re coming across the border, they don’t."

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) volunteered her opinion, when a reporter asked her about the photograph of a man who drowned with his little girl at the U.S.-Mexican border.

"What was your immediate reaction when you saw that photo and who do you hold responsible for it? Is there anybody to blame for that?" a reporter asked Pelosi.

Here is her full answer: