Speech #740127490

H. R. 7079. and H. R. 7223. would take care of meritorious cases of hardship by allowing the Secretary of Labor to suspend certain deportations for not more than 1 year. ample time within which for the Secretary to obtain clemency in meritorious cases. just as other Secretaries go to Congress for relief and with acts of indemnity." The resolutions and report I have read show that the organizations for which I speak offer twofold objections to the administrations bill. H. R. 6795. as introduced. or as modified. so long as it confers any discretion to not deport. to legalize illegal entries. or to change the status of aliens legally or illegally in the country. or fails to have any real restriction in it. They believe that existing legislation discretion to do that sort of thing should not only be retained by Congress. but that the discretion tucked in the naturalization law of May 25. 1932. or in any other law. to readmit any deported alien should be recaptured by Congress. so that no more wildeyed deported reds like Emma Goldman will be readmitted to run about the country. proclaiming. as she did. that she is "more of an anarchist than ever before". and that the law ought to be changed and so enforced that the Willie Musenbergs. John Stracheys. Henri Barbusses. Tom Manns. and other alien Communists admitted last year. will not be allowed to come back again and carry on lucrative lecture tours and add to our existing oversupply of agitators and disturbers seeking and preaching the overthrow of our Government by force and violence ". as Musenberg did when he addressed an audience of over 15.000 in Madison Square Garden. The memberships for whom I speak do want "habitual" alien criminals deported. and they also want "habitual" aliens deported. and they want both done mandatorily. and not left to the discretion of any official. good. bad. or indifferent. These discretions remind us of an opinion expressed by Secretary Hull several years ago when he was in the Senate that. such discretions as these are entirely too much discretion for a good official to want. and too much to confer upon a bad official. The organizations I represent are opposed to subdivision 2. section 1 of the bill. H. R. 6795. which conditions the deportation of an alien who "has been convicted of two or more crimes " on " separate occasions" and " involving moral turpitude " on the Secretary of Labor "finding" that "deportation is in the public interest."