It has been interpreted to mean any alien who is likely. in the near and predictable future. to become a public charge because he has no considerable resources. no assured source of income once he arrives in the United States. and no responsible relative or friend certain to look after him. As now written in the law. this has been an effective provision. It is the chief hurdle which wouldbe immigrant must surmount. But now the McCarran bill proposes to change this hurdle into a blank wall. with the only door through that wall being the discretion and softheartedness of the consul and immigration officers. The consul and the immigration officers are authorized to bar any alien on the basis of a sheer prediction that the alien is likely to become a public charge at any time in the futurenot tomorow. not 3 years from now or 5 years from now. but 20. 30. or 40 years after his admission into the United States. This Is authority enough to bar anybody but an alien with $1.000.000 in United States bonds. And if there were evidence that he was the least bit extravagant. even such a man could conceivably be barred by this provision.
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immigrant immigration