Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-11
ALIEN SMUGGLING
BRINGS BIG PROFITS
fBack-Gate" Crashing Joins
Ranks of million
Dollar" Rackets.
Continued From First Page.)


and the big syndicates between $780,
600 and 100000 year.
They charge between $500 and 81 900
to smuggle in man barred by the
quota law Often they blaCkmail him
for years after be gets in.
There are days when immigration Of
ficials estimate 900 Chinese, japanese,
Hindus, South Americans. Europeans.
Mexicans and Canadians cross the
American frontiers in a single twenty
four hours.
Since the restrictive quota law be-
came effective in 1924 between 1,000,-
600 and 100000 aliGuS are believed
to have entered the country sl,rrepti-
tiously-and more are border jumping
daily.
Guarding the Nations $500 miles of
frontier and LAO miles of Florida coast
line are exactly TAT men of the Immi-
grafton Border Patrol. The Government
might just as we'll try to halt Missis-
sippi flood with bath sponge.
Many More Waiting.
While this border patrol is rounding
up sometimes with a spattcr of re-
volver fights-between ii 900 and 1900
struggled aliens year, more are wait
ing in Canada, Cuba and Mexico to
cross the line. Many of this horde are
diseased, many are Old World crimi-
nails, who will join the gangsters and
gunner in our cities: many are the
illiterates, the mentally sick, the
tubercular and ailing, who will help
swell the large foreign-born population
in our jails and public institutions.
Despite the feeble protests of Ameri-
can diplomatic representatives abroad,
despite the puny efforts of the Immi-
grafton Service, the conspiracy of
wholesale smuggling-as might be ex-
pected-grows to International business
proportions, and unwanted poems, peas
ants, coolies and Stun riffraf are m
loaded into this country by fleets of
SmugglerS' airplaneS, motor boats, fish
ing smacks, schoonerS, tramp freighters
and transatlantic liners.
Aliens come across the Mexican and
Canadian borders hidden tfor fat
price, in collins, in bales of hay, in
freight cars. in the back seats of auto
mobiles and standing up to their necks
in tank cars.
On top of this one-way traffic across
the border, the immigration authorities
are confronted today with another great
problem. The law permits temporary
visitors to come to the United States
irrespective of the quota restrictions
holding back thousands of their coun-
trymen.
But-and this may surprise you--
once an alien visitor" enters the coun-
try there is no governmental check on
him.
No way to trace him.
No system for experimenting him and
saying:
See here, your six months are up.
You're on your honor to leave the
United States after six months and you
haven't done So Please go now"
The fact is 1866 of these foreign
visitors stayed behind last year.
They're somewhere about the country
today. They've not kept their word,
they've bamboozled their easygoing
host, Uncle Sam-but they're residing
here, and that's something to exult
about.
Forty thousand of these 1872 Aliens"
as the immigration Service terms Wis
itorS, enter New York harbor every
year, according to Benjamin Day, COM
missioner at Ellis Island. They call
themselves authors, architects, artists,
scholars, musicians, scientists, lawyers
and editorS-visitors for business or
pleasure
And across the Mexican border
27,000,00O casual drifters pass back and
forth yearly. And another 26,000000
walk back and forth from Canada
legally entering for temporary
period-knowing that the Government
has no way of locating them among
Americas 120,000,000 to deport them if
they stay.
Moreover, there are the non-quota
students" who come from foreign
lands to study at American schools and
universities. Most of them are bona
fide students. The schools to which
they are accredited report their at
tendance to Washington.
But what If they don't leave after
graduation? There's no way TO check
up on them. To show you how at
tractive this student rating is with
aliens, immigration inspectors reported
TOO foreigners in Cuba applied for
student viSaS"-and could not read
or write!
More, there are the 10000 to 10000
seamen who desert foreign ships every
year at American ports. They join the
hundreds of thousands struggled across
the frontiers.
The smugglers' syndicates, taking adj
vantage of the La Toilette seamen's
law, which permits alien seamen 60
now import undesirable aliens-at
fancy prices, Of course-as members of
the crews of transatlantic steamships.
Ships officers and crews get $85 to
500 head to aid aliens in this sea
men racket" The aliens walk ashore
in broad daylight as soon as the ships
dock and promptly disappear.
n
Unable to cope with the vast ma
jority of these smuggled foreigners,
the Government, beginning in March,
will attempt for the first time to keep
check on the alien visitors"
Under General Order lit, just issued
by the immigration Bureau at Wash
ington, a card index of all such tenn
porary entrants will be kept at the va
rious ports of entry. The cards will
show how long the visitors are stay
ing-or say they will stay-and when
they depart the cards will be taken
from the files.
That Is the theory of the new check
up of aliens How 1t will work is prob
lematical. 1t looks doubtful and full
Of loopholes.
How to Know When They Depart.
The Government intends to get from
all shipping companies manifests con-
tanning the names of all incoming pas
sengers and crews. The card indices
will be prepared from these manifests.
Then when ships sail. manifests
again will be delivered to the ports
Of departure.
This means that the immigration Of
ficials will go over their cards to see
If any alien visitors names are on
the ships manifestS. If the visitors
leave on time-well and good.
If not, that's that.
The Governments new check-up sys-
tenn doesn't provide for any search for