House Passes Drastic Deportation Bill

(Jewish Daily Bulletin)

The deportation bill passed by the House and now referred to Senate where early action is expected provides for the time limit and offense for deportation of aliens as follows:

An alien who entered the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officials, or who eluded examination or inspection or who obtained entry by a false or misleading representation at any time after entry, unless the entry was before July 1, 1924 in which case at any time within three years after entry.

An alien who at the time of entry was a member of one or more of the classes excluded by law from admission to the United States, such as anarchists, at any time within five years after entry.

An alien who remains in the United States for a longer time than authorized by law or regulations made under authority of law, at any time after entry unless the entry was before July 1, 1924, in which case, at any time within three years after entry.

An alien who, at any time within seven years after entry, is a public charge from causes not affirmatively shown to have arisen subsequent to entry, at any time after entry.

An alien who at any time within seven years after entry from causes not affirmatively shown to have arisen subsequent to entry is an idiot, imbecile, feeble minded person, epileptic, insane person, person of constitutional psychopathic inferiority or person with chronic alcoholism, at any time after entry.

An alien who is convicted of any offense committed after the enactment of the Deportation Act of 1926 and within ten years after entry, for which he is sentenced to imprisonment for a term of one year or more at any time after entry, but not after the expiration of three years after the termination of the imprisonment. The three important changes effected by this provision are the extension of the five year time limitation to a ten year limitation for a single offense, the substitution for test of moral turpitude, the test of a sentence to imprisonment for a term of one year or more and the elimination of the provision for a recommendation of non-deportation by the court or judge sentencing such alien.

An alien who has been convicted of a second felony; without any time limitation except that the deportation proceedings must be begun within three years after the termination of the imprisonment.

An alien who has been convicted more than once of minor infractions of law and has received terms of imprisonment aggregating eighteen months or more.

An alien who, after the enactment of the deportation bill violates or conspires to violate narcotic and white slave laws.

An alien who is found practicing prostitution or is an inmate of or connected with the management of a house of prostitution or who receives shares in or derives benefit from any part of the earnings of any prostitute or who manages or is employed by, in or in connection with any house of prostitution or music or dance hall or other place of amusement or resort habitually frequented by prostitutes or where prostitutes gather, or who in any way assists any prostitute or protects or promises to protect from arrest any prostitute, or who imports or attempts to import any person for the purpose of prostitution or for any other immoral purpose or who enters for any such purpose; at any time after entry.

An alien who willfully conceals or harbors, attempts to conceal or harbor or aids, assists or abets any other person to conceal or harbor any alien liable to deportation, if the Secretary of Labor after hearing finds that he is an undesirable resident of the United States; at any time after entry.

An alien who willfully aids or assists in any way any alien unlawfully to enter the United States at any time after entry.

The bill was passed on Monday, June 7, under suspension of the rules, whereby amendments are prohibited and debate limited to forty minutes. Congressman Bergen, in his speech, declared that under the bill it would be possible to deport aliens who had been convicted abroad of political offenses and thus, for example, men imprisoned for opposition to the Fascisti regime or communism in Russia or participation in the British strike, would be subject to deportation since the bill makes no distinction between political prisoners and others. Congressmen Sabath, Dickstein, and LaGuardia also spoke against the bill.