IMMIGRATION LAWS.
More rigorous enforcement of the immigration laws is being attempted by the Immigration Department under the
impetus of the Administration's desire to instil a respect for law. In the last seven years about a million and a quarter aliens are said to have entered the United States illegally, most of them by way of Mexico and Canada. In addition some 200,000 persons admitted as visitors are believed to have overstayed- the permitted period, and have violated the law forbidding their taking up paid employment in the United States during their " visit." It is an old problem, but new powers to deal with it were granted by Congress' this year. One Act, passed last March and generally overlooked in the pressure of business attending a change of Government provides a penalty of imprisonment or a fine for offences hitherto punishable only by deportation. These include both illegal entry and misrepresentation or concealment of material fact by " visitors." Last year 1,165 visitors violating its provisions were deported, and more than 900 similar deporta- tions were effected in the first six months of this year. The increase is notable, but the number of deportations is small in comparison with the average total of 30,000 violations by visitors aLgne each year. Whether the Immigration Department, without a greatly augmented staff, will materially alter the proportion remains to be seen.
Previous page
