Speech #820213987

Luthuania. Estonia. the Middle East. and oriental countries. and would include German expellees. The McCarran bill furthermore. unfortunately. and I think dangerously. adds many grounds for exclusion. thus making our immigration laws far harsher and more restrictive without furthering our natonal welfare. For example. it would bar any alien convicted of two or more offenses. other than political offenses. involving prison terms of 5 years or more in his native land. In that way we would bind our laws to the standards of other nations. many of them totalitarian. Inasmuch as totalitarian regimes frequently "frame" political opponents on trumpedup charges. this provision might also result in the exclusion of victims of political. racial. or religious persecution. We have already pointed out that under the McCarran bill Cardinal Mindszenty would have to be excluded from admission into this country. because. in addition to the two political offenses with which he was charged in the trumpedup indictment. there were included two other charges of a nonpolitical nature. namely speculating in the currency of the country and hoarding certain currencies or materials. The McCarran bill adds a host of new and arbitrary grounds for deportation. It permits the deportation of an alien convicted of even minor criminal offenses no matter how long he may have lived in the United States. An alien who had lived here for 20 years could be deported for a traffic violation. if in the judgment of the Attorney General he is undesirable. It is highly dangerous to grant such arbitrary power to any individual. The McCarran bill allows deportation of an alien who becomes a public charge regardless of his length of residence in the United States. This inhumane provision would severely penalize noncitizens for conditions often beyond their control. The McCarran bill requires the Attorney General to deport any alienand I emphasize this pointeven though he had led a model life here for many years. should it be discovered that at the time of entry he was actually in an excludable class. Thus. had he entered the country in violation of a minor technicality. deportation would be mandatory even if the violation were due to error. There would be no discretion lodged in any agency or any officer of the Government to change a ruling by the Attorney General. The McCarran bill makes deportable an alien who may have engaged in any proscribed activity after entry. no matter how long ago. and even if such activity or affiliation had long since been sincerely repudiated. The provision is inconsistent with another section of the McCarran bill which allows the entry of reformed members of totalitarian organizations. The McCarran bill withdraws the discretion granted to the Attorney General under existing law to suspend deportation in certain meritorious cases. Present statutes permit the Attorney General to suspend deportation when the alien has resided in the United States for 7 years and has proved himself of good character. or when deportation would result in "serious detriment or hardship" to the alien or his family. The McCarran bill requires proof of "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship." rather than merely "serious detriment." and would make the residence requirement a concurrent rather than an alternative requirement. The McCarran billand I emphasize this point because I think it is one of the very serious defects of the billdoes not provide for a Board of Immigration Appeals which would be independent of Department of Justice officials. to review exclusions or expulsions of aliens. It continues the present exemption of immigration proceedings from the terms of the Administrative Procedure Act. thus blocking correction by the courts of erroneous or unfair judgments of immigration officials. The McCarran bill sanctions interrogation of aliens by the Immigration Service without a warrant. and imposes harsh penalties for minor infractions. such as failure to carry a registration card at all times. thus surrounding the alien with an atmosphere of repression. which is a poor introduction to the American system of justice for all. The McCarran bill allows deportation of an alien to any country willing to accept him. even if he has had no prior connection with that country. and even when such deportation might subject him to harsh conditions of life or to racial. religious. or political persecution. The McCarran bill continues provisions of the Internal Security Act of 1950 which have recently caused so much embarrassment to our Government in international relations. Those provisions have been used to arbitrarily exclude such worldfamous scientists as Dr.