Naturalization Difficulties Foreseen in Truman’s Budget Message

Intensive proceedings against aliens and naturalized citizens next year are indicated by a breakdown of the estimated workload and expenditures of the Immigration and Naturalization Service for the fiscal year of 1954 as outlined in the President’s budget message.

A new condemnation of the McCarran-Walter Immigration Act was included in the budget message by the President who said he continued to think the act “unwise, unfair, and incompatible with our foreign policy objectives.” The budget, however, contained an Executive Department request for funds to implement the new act to cover detention, denaturalization, deportation and similar operative costs. Appropriations for the Immigration Service, because of the act, were increased by $8,300,000.

Significant estimates contained in the budget showed that the Immigration Service expects to make about 86,000 more arrests in the coming fiscal year than it did in 1952. Also, citizenship and naturalization investigations will jump from 17, 202 in 1952 to 124,100 per year according to the published estimate. Court appearances would be increased from 90,586 in 1952 to 160,000 for the approaching fiscal year.

The figure for aliens arrested would jump from 55,540 in 1952 to 89,100. While $5,896,844 was spent in 1952 to investigate aliens this item is increased to $8,864,700 The most marked increase is shown in the estimated number of investigations of aliens status dealing with deportation, violation of immigration laws, admission and naturalization. These individual probes will number 106,798 more than the previous year.

President Truman’s message on the budget contains indications that economic and technical assistance for Israel will be continued for the fiscal year 1954. The exact amount of aid envisioned for Israel is withheld for security reasons although the over-all foreign assistance program estimate for 1954 is expected to be increased.