Evening star., 1941-04-13
Seizure of Axis Ships Focuses
Attention on Hobbs Alien Bill
Measure Originally Was Intended to Provide for
Placing Felons in Custody but Now
Might Include These Crews
By Cedric Larson.

of the Constitution of the United States"
4. That he is not subject to deportation,
except for having remained longer than
the period for which he was admitted
or permitted to remain. s. That he has
complied with the requirements OF the
Alien Registration Act, 1910. s. That
there is substantial reason to believe that
he would be subject to political, racial.
or religious persecution we're he to return
to the country of his nativity, citizenship,
or last permanent residence.
If enacted into law, this discretionary
authority to the Attorney General to
change the status of n-immigrants TO
immigrants would solve a lot of the
headaches which are perplexing the Alien
Registration Division of the Justice De-
partment, as an aftermath to the 1910
alien registration.
Alternatives to Deportation.
Attorney General Jackson has in
formed Representative Summers, chair
man of the House Judiciary Committee,
that the Justice Department has out
standing 8,091 warrants of deportation.
Of these, 6,249 cannot be executed be-
cause of conditions due to the war beyond
control; 3947 of them having been issued
against aliens whose native countries
have refused to issue passports permitting
them to return, and 2,302 of them being
unenforceable on account Of transporta-
ton difficulties
The Attorney General said in his letter:
ct am forced to the conclusion that dur
ing the period of world disorder We must
cease to rely solely upon deportation as
a protection of our society against unde-
| sirable aliens and must adopt real
| istic policy based upon the tmprac-
| ticability of deportation"
Alternatives to deportation are not easy
to devise. Hundreds of the deportable
aliens have criminal records and ought
| not to be paroled. For criminal classes
| of the deportees, confinement pending
| deportation is the only feasible solution.
! In other cases, a limited parole Of the
! aliens, under bond or upon their own
recogniZance, can be followed.
1 During the months of our participation
in the first World War, 1918, the
question faced the government of what
to do with enemy aliens; unnaturalized
persons who had been born in Germany
or Austria Hungary. On April 6, 1917,
the date of our entry into the war against
Germany, President Wilson issued proc
/ lamation which forbade enemy aliens to
| possess firearms, or to enter military or
naval areas or arsenals.
World War Restrictions Cited.
BY subsequent acts, German men and
women IA years of age and over who were
aliens were obliged to register with the
| Justice Department and to have their
registration cards with them at all times.
No alien enemy could change his place
of residence or occupation or even travel
from place to place without full and clear
authority from the Attorney General.
In order to do away with the hysterical
overtones of the spy mania of 19l7-l0.
the Smith bill was passed by Congress
in June, l94O This measure required
all aliens to register and be flngerprinted
between August 81 and December 20.
1910 (about 100 days for completing reg
istration). When registration ended on
December 26, nearly 100000 aliens had
registered, or one-and-one-haf over pre-
registration estimates.
The information which the 100000
alien registrants put on forms is now be-
ing coded and answers punched on index
cards, in way which will ingeniously
tabulate the data, and yet be meaning
less to the uninitiated. Cameras photo
graph the forms at the rate of several
thousand a day on microfllm, and the
miniature negatives are so admirably
compact that the Photographic reduc-
tionS of the registrants of all America
can be stored in a couple of cabinets.
If the Hobbs bill is enacted into law in
amended form, it will help to straighten
out many of the kinks in alien registra-
ton problems, and give the Justice De-
partment an effective method Of handling
alien deportees and undesirableS.