The more than 200,000 aliens in Detroit and the other cities of the State of Michigan have been thrown into a state of panic and hysteria by the announcement that the State Commissioner is already preparing the machinery for alien registration, to bring about the complete registration of all aliens in the State within a period of two months. The registration may affect large numbers of Jewish and other aliens now living in Michigan who have no legal residence in the country and who may thus be detected and deported.
A strong force of legal talent in opposition to the Bill are meanwhile preparing to fight it on the ground that it is unconstitutional, and the Attorney-General of the State of Michigan himself, against whose advice the Governor, Mr. Brucker, signed the Bill, is also prepared to fight it, contending that it is illegal.
Under the Bill, every alien in the State of Michigan must register with the State Police and show proof of legal entry into the country. It is estimated that at least 100,000 people in Detroit alone will be forced to leave the State if they do not comply with its provisions. The U.S. Department of Immigration sponsored the Bill, it is understood, in an effort to secure the co-operation of the States in its endeavour to bring about the deportation from the United States of so-called undesirables and those who entered the country illegally.
The Act prohibits the employment of any aliens who do not possess a registration card issued by the State Department of Public Safety. Firms who violate this provision would be subject to a fine of 100 dollars and 90 days’ imprisonment for the official responsible for the employment of the particular alien. Aliens who are unable to produce a Registration Card would be subject to similar penalties and would then be handed over by the State Police to the United States Immigration authorities for deportation.
When the Bill was up before the Michigan State Legislature, it was adopted in the House by 84 votes against 7, and in the Senate by 25 votes against three.
There are 400,000 aliens living in the United States without legal right to do so, and 100,000 of them are deportable under the immigration law, Dr. Doak, the Secretary of Labour and Immigration, declared in January, in reply to questions put to him in the Senate as to what suggestions he might make for changes in the Immigration Law to facilitate the deportation of undesirable aliens.
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