Evening star., 1951-10-15
Poking Loopho|es in |nnnniQrotion Law
By Robert K. Welsh.


put such burden on the public lives Of
some Congressman that they believe the
immigration laws may be "nept" as well
as incomplete.
Yet. in the opinion of Representative
Dolliver, Republican. Of Iowa. overhaul
ing of the general statutes would be
consuming and almost endlessly
argumentative. It might do serious in
justices to worthy individuals seeking
immediate entry or safety in the United
States. he explained.
Since Congress convened last January
it has received about 1900 such bills. Be-
fore it adjourns this fall it probably will
have passed fewer than $50.
Unlike most of the thousands Of other
measures annually introduced in House
and Senate, each one Of these private
immigration bills involves in very par
ticular way a specific human being"
Mr.. Dolliver noted.
Each requires a particular kind OF
study and handling, especially by q
group of House Democratic and Re-
public "objectors," of which MIR. Doll1-
yer is one. The complicated process ex-
tends also to several administrative
agencies of the Government. It has
been greatly aggravated by world con-
ditions since the war.
Private bills in this category pro-
pose, in effect, that Congress halt or
delay operation of some provision Of
the immigration laws. They have been
described as personal favors" for in
dividual aliens.
$iaI fv%
other factors, domestic and foreign as
well as personal. Few are exactly alike
in their application. Some present the
toughest kind of tangles for Congress
and immigration officials to unravel.
For one reason or another. an ap-
parently deserving alien cannot come
to the United States under ordinary
quota restrictions or comply fully with
the letter of other regulations. Per-
haps he faces possible deportation
through no direct fault of his own.
And so a member of Congress. on his
own initiative or at the request of con-
stituents or organizations sponsors a
bill ''for the relief of" the alien.
Congressional authorities concede
that the practice has been seriously
abused at times and that the system
still has flaws and dangers. They re-
port progress in correcting shortcom-
ings. setting up stronger safeguards.
and providing stricter supervision.
THE job of being one Of the six desig-
mated 'objectors' to private bills in the
House certainly doesn't help to make
friends Mr.. Dolliver commented.
1t also doesn't give the "objectors"
much time to themselves. The daily
grist of private bills. having been
screened in various other official quar-
ters, is parcelled out among the lob
jectors" for additional study and check
ing.
The first and third Tuesdays Of each
month are private calendar" days in
the House. Many private bills are called
up but comparatively few are chosen
for passage. BY the time the immigrar
ton bills get as far as the private cal
endar the "objectors" find they have
relatively little objecting to do.
Much Of the work is done ahead OF
time. occasionally year or more ahead.
At least 600 of the private immigration
bills dropped into the House hopper
this year were presented in the 81st
Congress and got nowhere.
That does not mean the repeaters are
necessarily undesirable or doomed. Some
require more investigation or informa-
ton than could be given last year.
Nevertheless the introduction Of
private bill, under certain circumstances
can stop or delay the administrative
processing of an individual aliens case
until Congress acts one way or another.
That, according to some members Of
Congress, may account for re-introduc-
ton Of some bills. particularly to enable
aliens to remain here as long as possible.
Any prolonged abuse Of that kind is
unlikely, according to House judiciary
committee experts who examine private
bills If the immigration bureau has
sufficient grounds for believing delay
would be dangerous to the security Of
this country or otherwise be undesirable,
the bureau notifies the committee and
prompt action probably can be taken.
The large majority of private inn
migration bills, however. present diff
ferent types of problems because Of
their volume and individual questions.
They are so numerous that the House
Judiciary Committees immigration SUBJ
committee meets almost daily. MIR. Dol
liver, member of that subcommittee,
said this involves not only study but
hearings before any bills are reported
to the full committee on the private
calendar.
ut also brings up some Of the most
difficult human problems" he added.
"One case may concern the efforts Of
American parents to bring into this
country baby they adopted in Europe.
The next one might be the plea of
young alien woman trying to avoid being
sent back to a country where she has
been declared stateless."
"I don't suppose that any single new
section of the law could be written
to cover all the situations in the private
bills we get OF course, as in the case
of American naturalized citizens who
were blocked from return to this coun-
try because they voted in the Italian
elections, a special blanket bill proved
practical.
''It might seem there is something