Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-23
BY NORMAN KLEIN.

o1 LNONNhhEN 1AAEANs
Glow to keep our fences mended?" is
the question disturbing the Government
today.
And by fences is meant Uncle Sans
back fences-the $500 miles of frontier,
the unprotected miles of Atlantic and
Pacific coast Uncover, under and
through which 100000 alien undesir-
ables scramble annually.
Secretary of Labor James j. Davis
says the Government couldn't stop the
horces of border jumpers If it stationed
the Army along the Mexican and Cana
dian boundaries and set the Navy to
watching our seacoasts.
So the Government works its small
border patrol overtime, watches as vigi-
lantly as possible the ports of entry and
the international highways and does
what else it can.
Temporary Visitors Problem.
Right now it's the temporary visitors
to the United States who are the great
problem in the enforcement of the i'm
migration laws, according to the unani-
nous opinion of Secretary Davis, Sec
ond Assistant Secretary W. W. Husband
and Harry Hull, commissioner general
of immigration.
These visitors" enter yearly in enor-
nous hordes-tens of thousands With
passports on the various steam Ship
lines, 27,000,000 casual drifters-bacG-
anu-forth across the Mexican border
and 26.000.0 900 who enter similarly from
Canada.
They all enter legally for temporary
period. But there is no way yet devised
to make certain they return or to find
and deport them If they do not.
"A Canadian. for example" said AS
sistant Secretary Husband, comes
across the border to make visit to New
York City. The immigration officer asks
him, When are you going back?' He
says, 1T may be week or it may be 10
days He isn't sure. He goes to New
York-getS job somewhere and never
goes back"
"A visitor comes from Germany on a
passport. He says he is going to a
particular hotel Inquiries there show
he must have gone elsewhere Already
his tracks in America are covered He
drifts off into German colony in Wis
consin or elsewhere. He gets job.
He, too, is needle in haystack.
1927 "Visitors" in Year.
Commissioner General Hulls report
for 1928 showed that 1927 non-im-
migrant chat is "visitor'D aliens were
admitted in 1928 and only 1882 de-
parted. Where are the rest of them?
The extent of the seepage over the
Canadian and Mexican borders is I'M
known. Some aliens cross the border
as often as every day-commuters
working in Detroit and other cities.
Others drift across once week. once
month, once and never go back 1t
TxrfN hNA ts1dr al ton fn fr
inaugurate the policy of Afghanistan
and exclude all temporary visitors, or
to require them to furnish bonds for
their prompt departure, as Is done in
the suspicious cases, nor would 1t pro-
mote friendly Americana rela-
tons to tie up the temporary entry of
Canadians into the United States In too
much red tape.
The spirit of friendliness would no,
stand for that. Canadians can come In
permanently as freely as they wish by
paying their SO head tax and $40 wise
fee. But that is full weeks pay to
many of them, apd they prefer to
save it.
Statute Of Limitations.
How many aliens are at present in
the country Illegally can only be esti-
mated They are lost people. 1t is
only when one turns up here or there
with a declaration of intention to be-
come a citizen, or an application for
something or other, that he is diScov-
cred. Then II he has been here more
than three years-in some cases five
years-he Is not deportable under the
law, because of the statute OF limita-
tons, although he never can receive
citizenship.
There is a wide difference in the
number who entered Illegally in the
sense that there is no record OF their
entry, and in the number who entered
Illegally in the sense that they can be
deported.
Yet about 10000 year are caught
before the statute Of limitations takes
effect. Eventually they are deported.
Plans now under way for much
more careful scrutiny than heretofore
of the temporary visitors who arrive by
steamship. Under general orders lit,
lust issued by the immigration Bureau
here, card index of all such entrants
is to be kept at each port of entry. This
card index will show how long visitor
is entitled to stay. When he departs
the port of departure will notify the
port of entry. so that his card can be
taken from the files.
Thus, the Government will have
record of those who do not return. That
will be the first step toward finding
them and deporting them. Some can
be traced, positively If they are not
clever enough to give false addresses
Others will have to join the big class
for which the Government waits.
Ford's Eystem Praised.
Another method of aiding in the de-
lection of immigrants who entered
illegally has been devised in the form
of an identification card issued since
July /, 1928, to all immigrants entering
regularly Efforts are now being made
to get law through Congress enabling
an alien who entered before that time
to apply and receive an identification
card
When five years have passed, SO that
all who have entered Illegally before that
time have come under provisions of the
statute of limitation, an alien with
out such card would be an immediate
case for investigation.
Assistant Secretary Husband has high
praise for system instituted by Henry
Ford of employing no aliens except
those who could show they entered the
country legally.
IF all the larger employers would dc
That, he said, the Illegal entrant Woulo
soon get tired of tramping around In
search Of job and would be willing tC
appear voluntarily for deportation"
While the Federal Government has
no power under the Constitution tC
pass a law prohibiting any employer
from hiring an alien who cannot show
that he entered the country legally, the
States separately could do that
Mr. Husband said it would be great
aid to have such law in States like
New York and Pennsylvania, although
it would never be 100 per cent effective
until all States had it, because the
aliens who entered illegally woulC
simply move on to other States.
The smuggling of aliens across the
border is believed to be under pretty
close control since the creation of the
border patrol, which now consists of TAI
men.