Senate Committee Reports Favorably on Voluntary Alien Registration Bill

A bill providing for the registration of aliens in effect, if not in form, was favorably acted upon by the Senate Immigration Committee at an executive session yesterday, and will shortly be reported to the Senate. The bill provides that aliens who have been lawfully admitted into the United States for permanent residence shall upon application to the Commissioner General of Immigration be furnished with a certificate made from the original record of admission of the alien, bearing the alien’s photograph and containing detailed personal information. A fee of three dollars is to be charged for each certificate and according to the bill, “such certificate shall be prima facie evidence of the lawful admission” of the alien. If passed by both Senate and House the bill would take effect July 1st next.

The most important feature of the bill is that it is not compulsory for the alien to apply for or obtain these “certificates of admission.” The plan is therefore what has been generally described as “voluntary registration.” It was pointed out, however, in well informed quarters, that aliens who fail to avail themselves of the opportunity to secure certificates of admission, will, as soon as the custom becomes well established be subject to the suspicion that they entered the country unlawfully. Police officials will undoubtedly get into the habit of asking aliens to produce their certificates, and upon their inability to do so will probably run the risk of arrest. It is felt that Senator Blease’s bill is the opening wedge for Secretary of Lavor Davis’ original compulsory registration plan. No hearings were held on the bill which reads as follows: That an alien who has been unlawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence and who has continued to reside therein since admission, shall upon his application to the Commissioner General of Immigration, in a manner to be by regulation prescribed, with the approval of the Secretary of Labor be furnished with a certificate made from the original record of such admission. Such certificate shall be signed by the Commissioner General of Immigration and shall contain the (Continued on Page 4)

following information concerning such alien: Full name under which admitted; country of birth; date of birth; nationality; color of eyes; port at which admitted; name of steamship, if any, and date of admission. Such certificate shall also contain the full name by which the alien is then known, his signature and his address. A photograph of the alien shall be securely attached to the certificate, which shall bear an impression of the seal of the Department of Labor.

Sec. 2. Such certificate shall be prima facie evidence of the lawful admission of such alien. A fee of $3 shall be paid by such alien to the Commissioner General of Immigration for each such certificate. The moneys so received by the Commissioner General of Immigration shall be paid over to the disbursing clerk of the Department of Labor, who shall thereupon deposit them in the Treasury of the United States, rendering an account thereof quarterly to the General Accounting Office, and the said disbursing clerk shall be held responsible under his bond for such fees.”

The Senate will take up the bill after the Committee officially reports it.

Another bill recently introduced by Senator Blease making it a felony for an alien once deported, to reenter the United States illegally, was also approved by the Committee.

The Committee decided to defer action upon the resolution recently introduced by Senator Nye of North Dakota to defer the effective date of the national origins clause of the immigration law for another year.