Speech #820214142

In the case of Wong Yang Sung v. McGrath (339 U. S. 33). decided on February 20. 1950. the United States Supreme Court held that administrative hearings in deportation cases must conform to the procedural requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. The effect of that decision was to raise the question of the validity of many of the hearings in deportation proceedings in which the alien had not been deported. As a result. the Immigration and Naturalization Service had to adjust its procedures and regulations to comply with that decision. It should have made the adjustment when the Administrative Procedure Act became effective. for the act clearly contained no exemption for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It was the contention of the Immigration and Naturalization Service at a very early date that administrative problems required special procedures in connection with deportation. and at one time. shortly after enactment of the Administrative Procedure Act. the chairman of the Judiciary Committee worked out a bill. in cooperation with the General Counsel of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. for the purpose of establishing necessary special procedures in this regard without granting any blanket exemption from the Administrative Procedure Act. That has always been the important thing in the mind of the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. However. the Immigration and Naturalization Service decided it wanted to contest in the courts the applicability of the Administrative Procedure Act. and. therefore. the bill to provide special procedures was dropped. The contest with respect to the applicability of the Administrative Procedure Act in deportation cases came to a head in the Sung case. Following the Sung decision. the Department of Justice told Congress it would need an additional $4.000.000 to meet the cost of complying with the Administrative Procedure Act. The facts show that this was a gross overestimate. but it was a persuasive argument to the House Appropriations Committee. In the course of the presentation of its case. before the House committee. the Department pointed out that in the majority of deportation cases the Issue is simply whether or not the alien entered with proper documents or whether the alien overstayed his period of temporary admission. and that the facts are generally uncontested. In such cases. it was pointed out that the dualexaminer system would hamper effective administration without any compensating advantage. The Department explained in some detail that under its deportation procedures. each alien is given notice of the charges against him and full opportunity to meet those charges. and that in all respects he is provided a full and fair hearing. On the basis of the case presented by the Department of Justice. the House approved an appropriations bill rider which provided that "proceedings under law relating to the exclusion or expulsion of aliens shall hereafter be without regard to the provisions of sections 5. 7. and 8 of the Administrative Procedure Act." Having been approved by the House. this rider was not subject to a point of order in the Senate. and eventually it became part of Public Law 843. Eightyfirst Congress. Thus. at the present time. the deportation procedures of the 7mmigration and Naturalization Service are completely exempted from the procedural requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. Under the provisions of section 242 of Senate bill 2550. this exemption is terminated. The procedural requirements to be followed in the conduct of deportation cases are set out in detail. Except for the failure to comply strictly with the dualexaminer provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. I believe that the procedures set forth are in substantial compliance with the procedural rationale of the Administrative Procedure Act. I further believe that it has been demonstrated that it would be impracticable to adapt the dualexaminer system to the deportation procedures and that the special procedures provided in this bill are not inconsistent with section 7 of the Administrative Procedure Act which specifically exempts from the dualexaminer requirement specified classes. of proceedings before officers specially provided for by. or designated pursuant to. statute. Let me stress this point. Mr. President: My consistent effort has always been to avoid or eliminate any and all blanket exemptions from the Administrative Procedure Act. This bill eliminates such an exemption in the case of deportation proceedings. but accomplishes such elimination with due regard for the administrative problems of the Immigration and Naturalization Service by providing at the same time the special procedures which these problems require. An important point here is that the Congress is providing these procedures. Under a blanket exemption. the agency would prescribe its own procedures.