Delegation Seeks Elimination of Racial Classifications in Naturalization Blanks

A delegation advocating the elimination from the naturalization blank of certain racial classifications called on Secretary of Labor Davis. In a brief presented to him it was stated that “it is respectfully submitted that the requirement as to specifying race is not provided for anywhere in the naturalization law or regulations and is illegal, inadvisable and confusing and should be ediminated.”

The brief said that it appeared that the clause to which objection was made was inserted in view of section ten of the Naturalization Act of March 2, 1929 reading, “the commission of naturalization is authorized and directed to prepare from the records in the custody of the bureau of naturalization and report upon those heretofore seeking citizenship and to show by nationalities their relations to the numbers of annually arriving aliens and to the prevailing census population of foreign born their economic, vocational and other classification in statistical form with analytical comment thereon and to prepare such report annually there-from.”

The delegation maintained that section ten of the Naturalization act of March 2, 1929 refers only to nationality and not to race and is not therefor not any authority for racial classification. The immigration law on the other hand does specifically provide in certain instances for classification as to race, they stated.

Secretary Davis said orally after the conference that he would take under advisement the matter of altering the naturalization blank. The delegation included Congressman Emanuel Celler, Max J. Kohler of the American Jewish Committee, Judge Horace Stern, president of the American Jewish Committee, Mrs. Mark W. Lansburg of the National Council of Jewish Women, and Samuel W. Salus, state senator from Pennsylvania.