For the first time in history a group of aliens outside the United States will become American citizens, through the Justice Department instead of the courts, when more than 200 soldiers stationed in the Caribbean get their naturalization papers from Deputy Immigration Commissioner Thomas B. Shoemaker.
Attorney General Francis Biddle explained today that the Second War Powers Act made it possible to grant citizenship to members of the armed forces outside the jurisdiction of naturalization courts, Mr. Shoemaker will visit the Panama Canal Zone and other military establishments to conduct hearings, receive petitions, and issue certificates.
Members of the group in the Caribbean Defense Command who will get their papers include representatives of 34 nationalities. Mr. Shoemaker will transmit letters of greeting to the new citizens from Mr. Biddle.
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