Speech #750218880

Mr. Chairman. I have taken the trouble of preparing a summary of the Dies bill . which is being attacked through propaganda by certain groups upon the ground that It is going to open the doors to immigration and will not result in the deportation of the alien criminals in the country. I hope the Members of this House as well as of the other body will take the trouble to examine carefully my analysis of this legislation. I submit. Mr. Chairman. that the bill that we passed in this House is legislation that is sorely needed in this country today. It has nothing to do with the opening of the doors to immigration. It has nothing to do with immigration or with the quota laws at all. It is primarily a bill to deport a lot of alien criminals whom we cannot now deport. On the other hand. it Is designed to take care of a comparatively few persons in this country Who have committed no crime. but whose records of entry cannot be verified. The propaganda that is being spread in this House and in the Senate is not only absolutely cruel and inhuman. but largely false. because the bill that passed the House by an overwhelming vote176 to 33 against a motion to recommitdoes not interfere at all with the present restrictivequota plan of alien control. The bill has now been favorably reported by the Senate Committee on Immigration and will shortly come up for action in the Senate. This proposed legislation is an act to make certain adjustments in existing immigration laws as regards aliens already resident in the United States. As such it will be a valuable help to the Immigration Service in the enforcement of the law in seven particulars. First. The most important improvement on present immigration practice contained in this act is embodied in section 2. This section authorizes the Secretary of Labor. in a numerically limited number of cases. to exercise discretion In permitting to remain in the United States aliens who have entered illegally but have proved good moral character and desirability. and who have either been in the country for 10 years or who have lived here for a shorter period but are closely. related by blood or marriage to either American citizens or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence. The purpose of this section is to solve many cases where deportation is now mandatory on the ground of illegal entry but in which such deportation would work unjustifiable hardship. on members of the aliens family or on his or her position in the community established by 10 years residence. This discretion specifically may not be applied to any anarchist or subversive agitator. any violator of narcotic acts. or any criminal. prostitute. immoral person. or alien excludable under the terms of the 1917 act. One exception to the above exclusions is made in the case of aliens convicted of fraudulently securing visas or passports. because experience has shown that many aliens have illegally entered the United States with fraudulent papers through being the Innocent dupes of racketeers. while others have made false statements through confusion or lack of appreciation of the seriousness of their misrepresentations. The discretion conferred on the Secretary of Labor will enable that official to discriminate as to the seriousness of such frauds in determining the good moral character specified in the bill as a prerequisite to the admission of such aliens to a status of legal permanent residence. The Immigration and Naturalization Service is constantly confronted with socalled hardship cases where aliens of good character. firmly established in the United States and supporting families which often include American wives and children. must be driven out on account of technicalities involving their original entry. Such deportations cost money to the Government. bring much sorrow to innocent persons. and result in harsh treatment beyond anything justified by the merits of the cases. The discretion allowed the Secretary of Labor is limited to 4 years and to 3.500 cases in the first year and 1.500 cases in each of the remaining 3 years. The experiment of allowing such discretion to a responsible and highly placed officer of the United States Government is good sound common sense and is fraught with no danger to intelligent immigration practice. Second. Section 1 of this act will broaden the basis of deportation of alien criminals. At present the Immigration Service can only deport criminals who have been convicted of a crime prior to entry. or who within 5 years after entry commit a crime resulting in a sentence of at least 1 years imprisonment. or who have proved themselves habitual criminals. Under this new law there will be added to -the above classes any alien against whom the Immigration Service may issue a warrant of deportation because of a crime committed within 5 years prior to the date thereof which has resulted in a sentence of 6 months imprisonment. but with no option of paying a fine instead. also any alien convicted of the crime of possessing or carrying firearms. or of violating State narcotic laws. or of smuggling other aliens into this country. This widening of the basis of deporting aliens who have proved themselves undesirable by criminal activities will strengthen our ability to get rid of bad elements among. the foreignborn. Because these new provisions. as applying to (1) petty offenders within the scope of subsection 1 of this section. (2) firearms carriers within subsection 2. and (3) alien smugglers within subsection 4. may in a few cases work hardship on aliens of essentially good character. whose infraction of the law may have been of a technical or unimportant nature. the discretion of the Secretary of Labor. in section 2 of the act. to allow aliens of good moral character to remain in the country. is specifically extended for the possible inclusion of such cases. Third. Prompter issuance of warrants for the arrest of aliens believed to be subject to deportation is made possible by section 3. The Immigration Service often loses contact with deportable aliens while applying to Washington for warrants. under the present practice. Fourth. Section 6 terminates an undesirable preference given to agricultural laborers by the Quota Act of 1924. Fifth. Section 7 eliminates a technicality of the present law which causes the Immigration Service much trouble. Under the present law an alien legally resident in this country who even steps across the Canadian or Mexican boundary line is legally considered to have made a new entry into this country when he steps back. The date of the aliens last entry into this country often determines his status. and the Immigration Service now finds itself embarrassed in marny cases by new entries into this country where there has been -no intentional departure. This section has no application except to legally admitted immigrants of good moral character. Sixth. Section 8of the bill as amended by the Senate committeeenables the Immigration Service to legalize the entry into this country of aliens of good character who entered between June 3. 1921. and July 1. 1924. and in whose cases no record of admission for permanent residence can be located. Under existing law this can now be done as to those entering prior to June 3. 1921. The immigration law which went into effect on July 1. 1924. established an improved system of keeping immigration records. before that date the records were badly maintained and the exact status of many aliens was impossible to determine. Some of these aliens are forced to leave the country through no fault of their own but because of the inadequacy of the records. This section corrects that situation. Seventh. Section 10of the bill as amended by the Senate committeepermits the legalization of the immigrant status of a limited number of novitiates of religious orders who were legally admitted as visitors prior to January 1. 1937. The other sections of the bill merely enlarge upon the above purposes. It should be noted that(a) The bill does not permit or authorize the entry into this country of any alien not already here. nor by legalizing the position of aliens who have entered illegally does it numerically increase quota Immigration into this country. either past or future. because under section 9 all such persons are charged to existing quotas. (b) It is not an amnesty billas certain citizens hostile to its passage falsely claimfor it specifically does not permit the continuance in this country of any alien not possessing good moral character. (c) It does not modify existing law a single iota insofar as the deportation of criminals is concerned. but on the contrary provides for the deportation of additional classes of criminals by the provisions of section 1. A great many uninformed or misleading statements have been made in opposition to this act. which Senators. taking the time to read its provisions. will find to be entirely without grounds. To summarize. this bill in a number of ways improves the administration of the immigration laws. it will legalize the status of alien breadwinners who are supporting Americancitizen wives and Americancitizen children. and whose expulsion from this country would serve no sound economic purpose. but would work a hardship on all concerned. It broadens the basis for deportation of undesirable criminal elements. It eliminates certain technical bases for exclusion. where the merits of individual cases are all in favor of the retention of persons legally admitted to the United States.