Secretary of Labor Davis has granted the request of a Jewish delegation to permit the departure to Canada of Jewish immigrants held for deportation on Ellis Island because they were in excess of the Russian quota. The delegation consisted of Joseph Barondess representing the American Jewish Congress, M. Osofsky of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and Max Pine representing the United Hebrew Trades, all of New York.
Authorization for the transfer of the deportees to Canada came late Saturday afternoon after some 75 Jewish deportees were carried away on the Olympic, in addition to the 140 some who were deported on the Majestic the week previous. Efforts made to have the deportees taken off the Olympic have been in vain and the immigrants instead of proceeding to Canada will be landed at Cherbourg, whence they are returnable to the countries from where they embarked for the United States.
An important restriction is contained in the Department of Labor’s order which Assistant Secretary White, in charge of immigration matters, emphasized to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent today. Only those aliens brought by steamship companies who are signatory to a long-standing agreement with the Government making themselves amenable to American laws in Canadian ports as assuming expenses for the deportation will be allowed to proceed to Canada/. The Canadian order granting the deportees leave to remain in Canada until the reopening of the Russian quota is “provisional”, Mr/ White pointed out. Canada reserves the right to admit only those passing the civil and physical tests/. In the event of the rejection of some of the immigrants, the United States must be burdened with the expense of deportation unless they are transported on ships that will agree to carry them back. Mr/ White pointed out also that the Canadian order covers only the admission up to 500 who came in November. Of these he believes only about 300 have now been left.
Another restriction is that no transfers are allowed from one steamship company to another and the deportees may not be transported to Canada by rail but only on steamers in which they came. To Permit the immigrants to travel by rail, an order of the State Department would be necessary, permitting the immigrants to set foot on the soil of the United-States.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
