Mr. Speaker. section 9 of article I of the Constitution of the United States contains the following statement: "No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed." The annotated Constitution. as published by the Government Printing Office. defines a bill of attainder as a legislative act which inflicts punishment without a judicial trial. In this case the House committee in charge of the bill now before us refused to give the person to be punished even a hearing. and ignored the fact that in a previous trial under due process he was acquitted from all the charges made against him and a warrant of deportation against him was dismissed. The bill is clearly a bill of attainder within the meaning of the Constitution. Its passage would be a violation of the limitation of power imposed by the Constitution upon Congress. a violation made flagrant by the fact that the committee which reported the bill refused. by a vote of 9 to 3. to give Bridges or his counsel any hearing at all. The committee report frankly states that it deliberately recommends the deportation of Bridges without giving any reason therefor. Last year the Department of Labor issued a warrant for the arrest of Harry R. Bridges. an alien. on the ground that he was subject to deportation under the provisions of section 2 of the act of October 16. 1918. as amended by the act of June 5. 1920 (8 U. S. C. sec. 137).
Keywords matched
deportation