Mr. President. I challenge the attention of the chairman of the committee to the item on page 22. from lines 3 to 8. inclusive. being a deficiency appropriation of $450.000 for the Bureau of Immigration. If I thought any favorable result would attend a motion to eliminate that item. I would make it. and I want to make the statement now. Mr. President. that. in my opinion. the Bureau of Immigration has acted in many ways in a most arbitrary manner. It had no right to bring about this enormous deficit. and if the Senate. in my judgment. acted as it should. it would eliminate the whole item. As an illustration. we have heard of raids by the immigration authorities involving 300. 400. and 500 people. under the theory that the people thus raided were enemies to our country. bolsheviks. or whatnot. and yet the immigration authorities have had to discharge them from custody because the raids were wholly unjustifiable and they were arresting and taking into custody and incarcerating. in many instances. American citizens against whom there was no legitimate ground for charges. I think that the Immigration Service has been extravagant. it has acted arbitrarily. and I protest against this allowance of $450.000 additional. We made a very large appropriation in the last regular appropriation bill for this service. this additional deficiency appropriation is wholly unjustifiable. and I think that he immigration officials transcended their authority if this deficit has been created. I ask the Senator from Maine whether the amount is to cover past deficits or is it for prospective deficits that are to be incurred between now and the 1st of next July?
Identified stereotypes
The people raided were assumed to be enemies, bolsheviks, or otherwise dangerous.