Immigration law

“ The recent immigration restriction laws make a decided break with past national history and tradition. There is little doubt that these laws are in part the fruit of an organized movement which, especially since the war, is attempting to classify all aliens, except those of one special group, as “hyphenates” and “mongrels”. These laws are haphazard, unscientific, based on unworthy prejudice and likely, ultimately, to be disastrous in their economic consequences. The present three per cent, immigration law is not based on any fundamental standard of fitness. ”

“ We must also bear in mind that all of these millions who came to America do not remain with us. There is a constant emigration going on, a departure of aliens back to their native land either for a time, or for all time. Up to 1908, the Bureau of Immigration kept no record of the “ebb of the tide” but since that time vessels taking aliens out of the United States, are obliged by law to make a list containing name, age, sex, nationality, residence in the United States, occupation, and time of last arrival of each alien passenger, which must be filed with the Federal Collector of Customs. ”

“ However, we believe that the no-work condition regulation, when properly construed and when viewed in the context of the complex regime of immigration law, provides the individualized determinations contemplated in the statute. As noted above, we accept the Attorney General's interpretation of the regulation as affecting only those aliens who may not lawfully accept employment in this country. ”

“ This provision of the law was expected to regulate the transportation of immigrants, to prevent overcrowding on the ships and to mitigate some other abuses on shipboard. Laws for regulation or restriction of immigration have always been the result of popular demand, and have been enacted from time to time either to correct existing abuses or to prevent the entrance of certain undesirable classes. The fact, therefore, that no immigration legislation was enacted from 1819 to 1875 speaks well for the immigrants arriving during that period. ”

“ The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 was preceded by extensive studies of the structure and operation of the immigration law. These studies culminated in a report by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary entitled, The Immigration and Naturalization Systems of the United States, S.Rep. No. ”

“ This section of the law is the one upon which immigrants are coached more thoroughly than on any other, and in addition to the large number of immigrants who violate the most lenient interpretation, there must be many others whom the courts would not hold guilty, who nevertheless believe themselves so and suffer a corresponding degradation of character. A third element in the situation, which complicates it still further, is the interpretation practically placed on the law by the immigration authorities, which is apparently more strict than that of the courts. ”

“ It is enough to say that, Congress having the power to pass a law regulating immigration as a part of commerce of this country with foreign nations, we see nothing in the statute by which it has here exercised that power forbidden by any other part of the Constitution. ”

“ In fact, we're doing what we can to speed up the process for people who do apply for citizenship when they're here legally. But we won't tolerate immigration by people whose first act is to break the law as they enter our country. ”

“ We also have hundreds of thousands of people who have been ordered to leave our country, who then disappear back into the population. I have instructed the Justice Department, and particularly the Immigration and Naturalization Service, to come up with a plan in which we can cooperate with the States to identify these people and move them out as well.
Our country was built by immigrants, but it was built also by people who obeyed the law. We must be able to control our borders; we must uphold respect for our laws. ”

“ The issue before us is entirely statutory and requires our interpretation of the strict 1996 illegal-immigration law passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton. Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, 110 Stat. ”

“ It is alleged that the exaction of such payments of the petitioner, and the making of such threats were entirely without warrant of law; that the Immigration Act provides that, where a suitable building is used for the detention and examination of aliens, the immigration officials shall there take charge of such aliens and the transportation companies shall be relieved of the responsibility for their detention thereafter; that there was in the port of New York a suitable building for the detention and examination of aliens ”

“ Agents appointed by any State or Territory to represent to arriving immigrants the inducements it can offer to them are to have perfect freedom and opportunity to do so. {310} For checking the immigration of prohibited classes of aliens at the foreign starting-points of their journey to America, instead of at the landing places on this side of the ocean, the new law only lays more rigid restrictions and heavier penalties on the transportation companies, to make them exercise a more careful discrimination in their acceptance of passengers. ”

“ FOREIGN IMMIGRATION. For the protection of the quality of our American citizenship and of the wages of our workingmen against the fatal competition of low priced labor, we demand that the immigration laws be thoroughly enforced, and so extended as to exclude from entrance to the United States those who can neither read nor write. ”

“ How keenly alive American statesmen are to the evils which result from unrestricted immigration, is shown by a perusal of the Acts which have been passed upon the subject. The Acts, other than those regulating the immigration of Chinese labourers, are three in number, viz.:—The Act to regulate immigration approved by Congress in 1882, the Contract Labour Law of 1885, and the recent Act to amend all previous laws, which was approved by Congress on the 3rd of March of this year, and which came into force on the 1st of April last. ”

“ The United States has some excellent immigration laws, the best and most extensive of any nation, as one would expect, since this is the nation to which nearly all immigrants come. The trouble is that every attempt is made to evade these laws, and where they cannot be evaded they are violated. ”

“ The fact that the immigration problem in America is largely localized near ports of entry, suggests that fairness demands that means be provided whereby the burden of this question may be distributed over the United States. When our immigration laws are properly revised, no single State should receive an overload of aliens. ”

“ Our present immigration laws are effective against many of the most undesirable classes of immigrants and our immigration officers by their vigorous enforcement of these laws have acquired a reputation in Europe which has a deterrent effect upon the undesirable classes. Every defective alien deported to Europe advertises the fact that we will not permit 'paupers, diseased persons or persons likely to become a public charge' to land. ”

“ Immigration laws require, for instance, exclusion and deportation of aliens who advocate the overthrow of the Government by force and violence, and declare ineligible for naturalization aliens who are members of organizations so advocating. ”

“ In the interest of humanity, the Congress, in order to relieve some of the harshness of the immigration laws, gave the Attorney General discretion to relieve hardship in deportation cases. I do not believe it was 'an unfettered discretion,' as stated in the opinion. ”

“ Foreign immigration has become a burden upon industry, one of the factors in depressing wages and causing discontent; therefore our immigration laws should be revised and strictly enforced. The time of residence for naturalization should be extended, and no naturalized person should be allowed to vote until one year after he becomes a citizen.
8. Non-resident aliens should not be allowed to acquire land in this country, and we favor the limitation of individual and corporate ownership of land. All unearned grants of lands to railroad companies or other corporations should be reclaimed. ”

“ In legislation there have been many notable advances during the past twenty years and, in some cases, examples worthy of being followed by older communities. Amongst the most important legislative measures, those dealing with immigration, colonization, electoral reform, land settlement, education, labor, animal and sanitary laws, may be singled out for special mention. The immigration laws have been framed, since their inception, with a view to inviting foreigners to share in the development and enjoyment of the national wealth. ”

“ That restriction has been attempted and partially effected by various legislative provisions excluding contract laborers, and subjecting all other immigrants to a careful scrutiny as to their character, their physical condition, their means of support, and so on. Immigration has very much decreased, owing in part to the economic depression which has prevailed in this country for several years, and in part to our immigration laws, which make the transportation companies responsible for the return of objectionable immigrants, thus imposing considerable financial risks upon them ”

“ If we examine existing laws, and seek to understand the real nature of immigration restriction, we can see the character of this mistake. All of our legislation governing immigration should be described as improvement of immigration rather than restriction of immigration. ”

“ Refugees from Communist lands were also benefited, but the Act principally granted relief to persons who would be temporarily or permanently separated from their nearest relatives if the strict requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act, including the national quotas, were not relaxed for them. ”

“ That there has been a growing sentiment in this country during the last few years in favor of more stringent laws regulating foreign immigration cannot have escaped the notice of any person who reads our newspapers and magazines. ”

“ Up to the present time, with the exception of the Oriental races, there has been no real restriction to immigration. Our policy has been selective rather than restrictive. Of those arriving certain individuals are rejected by the immigration authorities because of some defect of mind, of body, or of morals, or because of age infirmity, or some other cause by reason of which the aliens are likely to become public charges. ”

“ Every member of the police force of any State, and every officer, may with any necessary assistance prevent any prohibited immigrant, or person reasonably supposed to be a prohibited immigrant, from entering the Commonwealth, and may take all legal proceedings necessary for the enforcement of this Act. ”

“ Section 19 of the immigration act of 1907 (34 Stat. at L. 898, 904, chap. 1134, U.S.C.omp. Stat. Supp. 1909, pp. 447, 458) is not aimed at the aliens of the excluded class, but at the owners of vessels unlawfully bringing them into this country. The government might in large measure protect itself by inspection, rejection, and order of deportation, but it is purposed, also, as far as possible, to protect the alien. ”

“ The issue is whether the statute saves from deportation an alien who misrepresents his status for the purpose of evading quota restrictions, if he has the necessary familial relationship to a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident. ”

“ Intending immigrants as well as steamship companies learn the standards of exclusion and the methods of evasion, so that the proportion who take their chances and fail in the attempt is very small. Nevertheless, this deportation of immigrants, though averaging less than 1 per cent, is a hardship that should be avoided. It has often been proposed that this should be done through examination abroad by American consuls or by agents of the Immigration Bureau. ”

“ I believe not only that existing laws authorize the single State to exercise an exclusive control over immigrants, but that the real interest of the country requires this exclusive State control to be continued. ”

“ The 1957 Act was then followed by the Fair Share Refugee Act of 1960, 74 Stat. 504, which defined 'refugee' as one 'not a national of the area in which the application is made, and (3) (who) is within the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.' Finally, the present legislation was added to the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1965. From the 1957 abandonment of the words 'firmly resettled' the Court of Appeals determined that Congress had purposely rejected 'resettlement' as a test for eligibility for refugee status. ”

“ Only those peoples should be admitted whom experience has shown will amalgamate quickly and become genuine citizens. The period of residence necessary for citizenship should be raised from three to five years, during which time the immigrant should be literally on probation, and subject to deportation if found wanting, or if unable to meet the qualifications of citizenship at the end of that time. The government should decide where the immigrant may settle and the immigration current should be directed to the western and farming districts, and not allowed to stagnate in eastern cities. ”

“ After a hearing before a Special Inquiry Officer, he was ordered deported as an alien not in possession of a valid immigration visa; this order was affirmed on appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. ”