The least we can do is to make it possible for each of them to qualify for the benefits of the Social Security Act. to which he is. by present laws. entitled. but from which often excluded because he cannot prove he was born in the United States on any particular date. These many requests for help from our older citizens were a big factor in causing me to seek legislation which would permit them to secure Federal certificates of citizenship showing the dates and places of their births under H. R. 6138. through the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization. But a second and equally important reason for the immediate passage of this legislation arose with the outbreak of the war in Europe in September 1939. More and more our factories were converted to the making of war products. Under certain conditions Federal laws will not permit an alien to work on Army and Navy munitions. Perhaps the laws would not have caused too much trouble. if strictly followed. but owners of plants believed in the underlying reasons for such legislation and refused to employ anyone who could not prove himself to be an American citizen. either by producing a birth certificate or a naturalization certificate. American citizens already employed were told to produce birth certificates or be discharged. Possible sabotage. possible inadvertent violation of a Federal criminal law. possible subversive influences. and possible other troubles were to be guarded against.
Keywords matched
Naturalization Immigration naturalization