Speech #830174200

Mr. Speaker. here is another case of extraordinary hardship applied to an infinitesimal offense by the drastic provisions of the McCarranWalter Act. Edith Ruth Smithnee Kunickmarried Sergeant Smith of the United States Army in Germany in 1952. Their marriage had the prior approval of the American military authorities. but when the time came for the issuance of an immigration visa for Mrs. Smith it was discovered that when she was 18 years old she committed a crime involving moral turpitude. Here are the facts as reflected in official reports. During an outing in 1948 in Stuttgart. Germany. Ediths sister. 16 years old. climbed a walnut tree and while shaking the nuts from the tree. fell and fractured both arms.