Speech #740127545

Broken families. I understand. Is the argument back of this proposed administration discretionary relief for these socalled "deportation hardship cases." In line with such brokenfamily reasons for the discretionary provisions in the bill. it would seem that Mr. Allens alien acquaintance ought not to have been readmitted even on a 6month visitors visa. If the proponents of this bill really have the prevention of broken families at heart. and what they really want to do is to prevent families dividing and breaking up. one additional line in this bill would do more to prevent such alleged "terrible ". " cruel ". " Inhumane ". and "heartless separations " thanall the .rest of the billif merely Immigration visas were suspended as to any alien separating himself from. or leaving behind. a near family relative. when he comes to this country. If you did that. you would stop a large number *of these hardshipdeportation cases. A whole lot was said yesterday about our immigration and deportation laws being "stupid ". "silly ". "ridiculous ". "farcical ". and almost everything else bad and opprobrious that any law could be called under the sun. And yet it seems to me. if I ever read a law or bill that approached anything of the kind it is this very bill. Take the double negative in subdivision 2 of section 1. Take the making of carrying any "concealed or dangerous weapon" in section 3. such as a bowie knife. a "crime involving moral turpitude ". when frankly. candidly. and directly section 3 could have provided that any alien carrying a concealed or dangerous weapon "shall be taken into custody and deported ". instead of beating around the bush as that section does. But the most monstrous provisions of the bill are those of subdivision 2 of section 1 and the provisions of section 4. as I have already said. whereby the commission of "two or more " felonies " Involving moral turpitude on separate occasions " are held out to alien criminals as the hope for the exercise of the discretion contained in subdivision 1 of section 1. section 4. leaving absolutely mandatory the deportation of aliens convicted of only one crime involving moral turpitude and subdivision 2 of section 1 providing that the alien felon who hastens to commit another moralturpitude felony or "two or more." may not be mandatorily deported. and will bring himself within administrative discretion. I submit as I have said that a more accurate preamble for this .bill would read: "A bill to increase alien felonies by extending deportation relief only to aliens who commit two or more felonies involving moral turpitude. encourage illegal alien entries by legalizing illegal entries in the future as well as in the past ". as section 6 does. and to invite law evasion and to create disrespect for law observance by changing the temporary admission status of visitors. students. and other nonimmigrant and nonquota aliens. who break their word and change. their temporary admission status. as section 5 proposes. Certainly. it is not beyond the legislative capacity of Congress or of this committee to definitely write into a statute the exception of reformed criminal urged as the reason for discretion in subdivision 2 of section 1. and in other difficult cases to grant relief as was granted in a bill enacted into law to the wife of an American who indulged in three shopliftings in her early youth. And now. in conclusion. let me very briefly summaiize and say that the effect of sections 4. 5. and 6. as well as subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 1. is to substitute the personal discretion of the Secre.tary of Labor or some subordinate for a considerable body of definite written law. established court precedents. and administrative practices. Under its exercise thousands of aliens who have entered the country illegally. or who are here unlawfully. and yet who may have become notoriously obnoxious or gotten into difficulty with some friends or relatives who have complained against them. that has caused their illegal presence to be called to the attention of the immigration officials. might thus become. and many would become. as announced by the Department officials. permanent legal residents. If not citizens. Much has been and can be said for the statute of limitations in these instances. but should such a statute take the form in this bill of indefinite personal discretion?