NATURALIZATION OF CERTAIN ALIEN VETERANS OF WORLD WAR APRIL 26, 1935.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. KRAMER, from the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 7170] The Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 7170) to authorize the naturalization of certain resident alien veterans of the World War, having considered the same, report it back to the House with certain amendments and recommends that bill as amended do pass. The committee amendments are as follows: On page 2 in line 4, after the word "April", strike out the numeral "9" and insert in lieu thereof the numeral "6"; On page 2 in line 7, after the word "service", strike out the semicolon and insert the words "for any reason other than his alienage" and insert after the word "alienage" a semicolon; On page 3 in line 2 after the comma following the word "Act", insert the words "and orders or judgments authorizing such certificates" and insert after the word "certificates" a comma; On page 3 in line 4, after the word "stamped", strike out the balance of line 4, insert a comma and the words "declaring their validity under this Act, by the". There is no immigration question involved within the provisions of this bill, as reported from the committee, since no one who is not within the United States or not within the Territories of the United States on the date this bill becomes law in its present form will be able to claim any benefits under this legislative measure. Your committee feels sure this measure, as reported to the House, will not result in any immigration of persons, from oriental countries, who are now excluded under the immigration laws from admission to the United States or Territories thereof. Unless, independent of the enactment of this bill and in their own rights, they would now be eligible to admission to this country pur suant to the limitations of subdivision (c) of section 13 of the Immigration Act of 1924, as amended, the wives and children of such oriental resident World War veterans benefited by this act would not solely by reason of the enactment of this bill thereby gain any additional privilege of admission under the immigration laws. No oriental World War veteran, otherwise eligible to the benefits of this act, will benefit through the provisions of this act if he is not here in this country when this bill becomes effective by proper enactment. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) of section 1 of this act define very specifically five prerequisite facts which must first be established before consideration may be given to any application for naturalization under this act. Having first established those prerequisite facts, an applicant seeking original naturalization under this act will then be further required to comply with all the requirements of the uniform naturalization law, that is the naturalization law of June 29, 1906, as amended, except that the applicant will not be required to submit a certificate of arrival nor file a declaration of intention but the applicant is limited in time for the filing of petition for certificate of citizenship. He must file his petition with an appropriate court before January 1, 1937; no petitions for certificates of citizenship may be filed under this act after December 31, 1936. The necessity for the enactment of this measure arises from a widespread judicial interpretation of certain acts approved in 1918 and 1919, under which interpretations approximately 400, more or less, alien veterans, of oriental racial origin, honorably discharged from service with the armed forces of the United States during the period this country was a participant in the recent World War, had been granted admission to citizenship and had received certificates of citizenship. There are a few additional alien veterans of oriental racial origin who are equally eligible to the benefits of this act on account of their service rendered this country in time of war but who have not heretofore applied for the benefits of previous laws under favorable interpretations as heretofore mentioned. Notwithstanding the fact that, in several jurisdictions in continental United States and in Hawaii, Federal courts have granted certificates of citizenship to these veterans of oriental racial origin, the committee was informed officially that proceedings to cancel such certificates, under another section of the naturalization law, have been instituted in only about six cases. However, all of these outstanding certificates have been placed in jeopardy by reason of a decision handed down by the United States Supreme Court in 1925 (Toyota v. United States, 268 U. S. 402), the effect of which was to hold these veterans are not eligible to citizenship, because they are not free, white persons, nor aliens of African nativity, nor persons of African descent. That decision, unless this legislative measure is promptly enacted, may be used as the basis upon which to institute proceedings to cancel these outstanding certificates. It is the opinion of your committee that, instead of permitting that jeopardy to continue, these certificates should now be made valid by legislative approval of the judicial orders and judgments by which they were originally issued. This purpose will be accomplished by the enactment of section 2 of this act, solely insofar as the racial origin of the veteran is a factor in the validation. By implication the time limit for this validation is fixed as before January 1, 1937, since no one would be eligible to the benefits of section 2 who was not eligible to the benefits of section 1, which fixes this time limitation. This act is also comparable with other acts which serve to expedite naturalization of other veterans of the World War in that the veterans benefited by this act are not required to pay the Government the usual naturalization fees. During announced public hearings on this bill conducted by your committee, no witness appeared to testify in opposition to the enactment of this measure. On the other hand, resolutions adopted at the recent national conventions, respectively, of both the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars were submitted for public record of the hearings and both of these organizations petitioned Congress to enact laws making possible the naturalization of these resident veterans of oriental racial origin. Furthermore, endorsement for this particular bill (H. R. 7170) was submitted, for the public record of the hearings, in the form of a telegram signed "California Joint Immigration Committee", signed by the chairman and the executive secretary of that group which has been unswerving in advocating the exclusion of orientals under the immigration laws. In conclusion, your committee feels sure that the prompt enactment of this measure, in the form reported to the House, is simply a measure of justice to resident persons who rendered service in our own armed forces during war time, who notwithstanding racial differences entered our armed forces and fought for this country-some even having seen active service in the fighting zone on foreign soil under the American flag. Some of these oriental veterans of the World War have been so long in the United States or Hawaii that a return to their native country would be almost equivalent to a visit to a foreign or alien country these are today very largely products of the environments of the United States, and qualified to serve this country acceptably in peace, as citizens, as they did in war, as aliens who declared their allegiance by their oath upon entrance to our armed forces. Communications relative to facts about these oriental alien veterans of the World War as received by the committee from Government departments are herewith submitted as parts of this report and are as follows: HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS, Washington, April 6, 1935. Hon. SAMUEL DICKSTEIN, Chairman Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. DICKSTEIN: In reply to your letter of April 2 requesting a report giving the number and the names of veterans who served in the Marine Corps and received honorable discharges from service rendered between April 9, 1917. and November 11, 1918, and whose racial origin would entitle them to the benefits of H. R. 7107 if it were enacted into law, I have the honor to inform you that the bill would not apply to any former member of the Marine Corps. Sincerely yours, JOHN H. RUSsell, Major General Commandant. WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, April 9, 1935. House of Representatives. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF THE NATIONAL GUARD BUREAU, Hon. SAMUEL DICKSTEIN, Chairman Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, DEAR MR. DICKSTEIN: Receipt is acknowledged of your letter dated April 2, 1935, concerning H. R. 7170, a bill to authorize the naturalization of certain resident alien World War veterans. The National Guard Bureau has no record of the veterans of the World War who served in National Guard units. It is regretted that this Bureau is unable to furnish the list of veterans by names who would be entitled to the benefits of this act if it were enacted. DEAR MR. DICKSTEIN: Further reference is made to your letter of April 2, 1935, requesting a report on the bill H. R. 7170, Seventy-fourth Congress, first session, to authorize the naturalization of certain resident alien World War veterans, as to the number who served under the jurisdiction of the War Department in the armed forces of the United States and who received honorable discharges from service rendered between April 9, 1917, and November 11, 1918, and whose racial origin would entitle them to the benefits provided in the bill if enacted. You are advised that the War Department has no compilation from which the information which you desire may be found. To obtain the statistics it would be necessary to examine the individual records of each of the 4,057,101 soldiers of the World War, which, on account of the time required and the expense involved, would be impracticable. I regret that a more favorable report cannot be furnished. GEO. H. DERN, Secretary of War. Hon. SAMUEL DICKSTEIN, TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Chairman Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. SIR: In reply to your letter of April 2, 1935 transmitting a copy of H. R. 7170, you are advised that the following-named persons, whose racial origin entitle them to the benefits of the act, served in the Coast Guard between April 9, 1917, and November 11, 1918: Hon. SAMUEL DICKSTEIN, TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Washington, April 8, 1935. Chairman Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. SIR: Supplementing our letter of April 6, 1935, you are advised that all the men mentioned therein, with the exception of Toyokichi Kato who deserted, were discharged from the Coast Guard under honorable conditions. Respectfully, H. G. HAMLET, Rear Admiral United States Coast Guard, Commandant. DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY, The CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: H. R. 7170 "To authorize the naturalization of certain resident alien World War veterans", was forwarded to the Navy Department by the committee on April 2, 1935, with a request for a report giving the number of veterans who served under the jurisdiction of the Navy Department in the armed forces of the United States, and who received honorable discharges from service rendered between April 9, 1917, and November 11, 1918, and whose racial origin would entitle them to the benefits sought to be conferred by the bill, if enacted into law. The records of the Navy Department show a total of 483 aliens, heretofore ineligible to citizenship because not of a free white person or of African nativity or descent, who served honorably in the United States naval service during the period from April 9, 1917, and November 11, 1918, and who subsequently were honorably discharged from this service. Of this number 420 were Chinese and Japanese, most of whom have since returned to the Orient and thus would not be eligible to the benefits proposed by this bill. Others have died or returned to foreign residences. It is estimated that not more than 25 or 30 remain, out of the total of 483, who might be affected by the enactment of this bill. To obtain the names of those 25 or 30 men, who might be affected, would require a search of records lasting about 3 weeks. It would then be necessary to ascertain whether each one has maintained a residence within the United States, or any territory thereof, since the date of his discharge, in order to determine the number that would actually be affected. With the limited clerical force available, it is impracticable to give the committee the list of these veterans by name. Sincerely yours, CLAUDE A. SWANSON. UNITED STATES DEPARTMEnt of Labor, Hon. SAMUEL DICKSTEIN, Chairman Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR CONgressman DicKSTEIN: As requested in your letter of April 2, I am submitting approximate figures of the number of alien veterans of the World War who have received certificates of naturalization, although racially ineligible for naturalization, and who apparently would be eligible to the benefits of section 2 of bill H. R. 7170, introduced by Congressman Lea. Apparently no complete and accurate lists were kept here of these groups at the time their cases arose, and it has been necessary to make a careful examination of each individual case from incomplete lists which have been located in the files. Other than the cases of Filipinos, which will be referred to later, the records show 194 alien veterans who rendered the required service in the Army, 105 in the Navy, and 1 in the Coast Guard, a total of 300. In addition to the foregoing, the cases of 73 persons who served in the Army and 26 in the Navy, making 99 possible additional cases, are now being checked by the War and Navy Departments to determine whether the service, rendered by them brings them within |