Speech #770110957

Mr. Chairman. the pending measure is the outgrowth of the work of the Committee on the Judiciary in pursuance of the inquiry under the resolution of our colleague. the Honorable J. PARNELL THOMAS. which sought the impeachment of the Secretary of Labor. the Solicitor of Labor. and the Commissioner of Immigration. In that work we discovered that during the year 1938. 460 aliens who had been ordered deported by the duly constituted authorities of our Nation could not be deported because of the failure or refusal of foreign governments to permit their return. Some of us were shocked by that discovery. We had not realized that in so many cases the sovereign deportation power of the United States was being thwarted. We felt that the number of such cases might indicate collusion between many of these aliens and officials of their home governments. or worse. The vast majority of these aliens are as free as any citizen. and yet they had each been adjudged unfit to remain here. and after due. fair. and proper procedure. solemn warrants of deportation had issued. The problem was given careful. intensive. and extensive study. It was found that while. of course. all of these had forfeited their privilege of living in this country by violating our law. yet in only a few cases were the offenses serious enough. or so socially significant to warrant the provision of the manifest remedy. But in those few cases the offenses were both serious and socially significant. So the conclusion was reached that as to those few of such aliens whose conduct had placed them in any one of the four worst classeswhite slavers. narcotic venders. anarchists and others advocating the overthrow of our Government by force. and felons whose repeated crimes involved moral turpitude. not as to their own entry or naturalizationthe right of detention necessarily incident to the right of deportation should be broadened. by authorizing. clearly. detention until deportation should have become feasible or other departure arranged. or until the board. upon sufficient evidence of good cause. should order the release of any one of them temporarily or permanently. The bill now under consideration has resulted from that conclusion. Children all over this country are being preyed upon by peddlers of marijuana cigarettes and other narcotics.