Speech #820244780

Said Justice Jackson: It is a weapon of defense and reprisal confirmed by international law as a power inherent in every sovereign State. Such is the traditional power of the Nation over the alien. and we leave the law on the subject as we find it. Regarding the Presidents ghost wrters complaint that certain provisions of this legislation are applicable to the deportation of subversives. this is what Justice Jackson had to say: During all the years since 1920 Congress has maintained a standing admonition to aliens. on pain of deportation. not to become members of any organization that advocates overthrow of the United States by force and violence. a category repeatedly held to include the Communist Party. These aliens violated that prohibition and incurred liability to deportation. They were not caught unawares by a change of law. Regarding the Presidents ghost writers complaint about the constitutionality of the other provisions of this bill. Justice Reed. in delivering the opinion of the Supreme Court in the case of Carlson against LandonMarch 10. 1952cited five Supreme Court decisions to sustain the following finding: The power to expell aliens. being essentially a power of the political branches of Government. the legislative and executive. may be exercised entirely through executive officers. "with such opportunity for judicial review of their action as Congress may see fit to authorize or permit." This power Is. of course. subject to judicial intervention under the "paramount law of the Constitution." This judicial intervention has been fully preserved in the bill presently before us. So have been other rights and privileges of the alien foreignborn and nativeborn citizens. Notwithstanding the fiction contained In the veto message. all existing statutes governing the loss of United States citizenship have been liberalized. and I want to stress the words "all of them"-those relative to loss of citizenship by dual nationals as well as those relative to children of American citizens born abroad. The paragraphs of the veto message which discuss these provisions of the bill prove once more what I said at the outset. that the ghost writers simply neglected to acquaint themselves with the provisions of the proposed law before they advised the President to disregard the recommendations of all his executive agencies and succumb to pressures motivated by political interests. After having spent close to 4 years in studying and drafting this law. its authors. supported by every one of the administrative agencies working in the field of immigration and naturalization. recommended the passage of this legislation and now they most sincerely recommend that it be passed again. the Presidential "illadvisers" notwithstanding. Mr. Speaker.