Speech #740208291

President. I call attention to the testimony of Colonel MaeCormack. Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization. before the Senate Immigration Committee. He stated in substance that when he took office it was found that only about 81/2 percent of the aliens deported were deportations of criminals. that under the law criminals were permitted to escape because the mandatory provisions of the law did not reach them. He further stated that in dealing with noncriminals the law was mandatory and exceedingly severe. He stated that a number of bills had been introduced in Congress to correct the situation. but none had been passed. He then stated that the Department had found that in the United States there were 20.000 alien criminals who had committed crimes within the past 5 years who could not be deported. but who could be deported by the Government if the bill before us were enacted into law. He added that during the past 5 years an average of between 1.800 and 1.900 criminals were annually deported. and that if this bill is passed the entire 20.000 can be deported. In his testimony at page 16 of the hearings. he referred to some of the socalled hardship cases. With reference to persons who had infringed the law by some technicality. he stated that in some cases to deport such persons would mean that the family would be "left behind in the United States." He addedThat it is not an uncommon thing to deport the husband to one country. his wife to a second country. and his child or children to a third country.