Speech #640072481

Mr. Chairman. the gentleman from Alabama and myself conferred in relation to this amendment yesterday. I am in entire. sympathy with the amendment. but I do think that I ought to call the attention of the gentleman from Alabama to the fact that there has been only one act passed by Congress within the last 10 years that was declared unconstitutional and that is section 3 of the immigration act of 1907. and in that there was -an intimation in the opinion of Judge Holmesand if not in that case in a prior casethat you could not provide that an alien could be deported at any time. that there had to be a limit. and that the length of time for deportation was analogous to the time in which a person could be naturalized. If the gentleman will recollect. when we came to draft the amendment subsequently we put in a fiveyear limit in relation to. deportation of alien criminals. because of that feeling that possibly Congress had no right to provide for deportation after the time in which the alien could be naturalized. I am going to vote for the amendment if the gentleman persists in it.