TO AMEND THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 1964 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The subcommittee met at 10:10 a.m., pursuant to notice, in room 346, Cannon Building, Hon. Michael A. Feighan (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Feighan, Chelf, Rodino, Poff, and Moore. Also present: Walter M. Besterman, legislative assistant; and Garner J. Cline, associate counsel. Mr. FEIGHAN. The subcommittee will come to order. The first witness will be our very able colleague and member of the Judiciary Committee, Mr. Cramer, of Florida. At the outset, I would like to insert in the record of the hearing an article appearing on page A-23 of today's Washington Post titled "Student Wants Cuba Ideas Here." (The article follows:) [From the Washington Post, June 19, 1964] STUDENT WANTS CUBA IDEAS HERE HAVANA, June 18 (UPI).-The leader of a group of 75 American students visiting Cuba in defiance of a State Department ban said today that the visitors want to take socialism back to their country. "We want to know the correct methods used here as well as your mistakes to be well prepared to take socialism to our country," said Edward Lemanski, 23, of New York. Lemanski said he donated to a Cuban blood bank yesterday because "my Government is responsible for the loss of much Cuban blood, and I want to give back the Cuban people some of that lost blood ***. Several others here think the same way Yvonne Bond of San Francisco said her blood donation represented to her "my biggest anti-imperialist gesture ***. I want it used in some Cuban wounded fighting against any eventual attack by the United States ***." All of the students in the group donated blood except Scott Wilson, 16, of San Francisco, who was under the minimum donor's age. He called Communist Cuba "a wonderful thing * * *." Judy Chessman of New York who said she was a City College student, said her blood donation was in gratitude to the Cuban people. Mr. FEIGHAN. Mr. Cramer, as you know, there are several indictments that have been issued against certain offenders with reference to the subject matter under discussion. In the event that you feel that what you may be about to say should better be given in executive session, you may so indicate and that procedure will be followed. Your two bills will be made part of the record at this time. [H.R. 5320, 88th Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To amend section 215 of the Immigration and Nationality Act Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the first sentence of subsection (a) of section 215 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1185) is hereby amended to read as follows: "SEC. 215. (a) When the United States is at war or during the existence of any national emergency proclaimed by the President, or when the President proclaims that the interests of the United States require restrictions and prohibitions on travel to or transit through any country with which the United States does not maintain diplomatic relations, or has canceled or suspended such relations, or, as to aliens, whenever there exists a state of war between or among two or more states, and the President shall find that the interests of the United States require that restrictions and prohibitions in addition to those provided otherwise than by this section be imposed upon the departure of persons from and their entry into the United States, and shall make public proclamation thereof, it shall, until otherwise ordered by the President or the Congress, be unlawful-". SEC. 2. Paragraph (3) of section 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act is hereby amended by adding the following at the end thereof: "or to conceal or falsely state in an application for a passport or for permission to depart from the United States such person's intention to travel to, or to interrupt his journey in transit through, any country with which the United States does not maintain diplomatic relations or has canceled or suspended such relations; or to conceal or falsely state at the time of his entry into the United States the fact that such person has traveled to, or interrupted his journey in transit through, any country to which his passport or any travel document issued to such person had not been validated; or to travel to, or to interrupt his journey in transit through, any country with which the United States does not maintain diplomatic relations or has canceled or suspended such relations." [H.R. 11603, 88th Cong., 2d sess.] A BILL To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize, in the national interest, restrictions on travel by nationals of the United States in certain designated areas of the world Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Congress finds and declares that there exist from time to time world conditions which make it contrary to the national interest and a serious impediment to the realization of the foreign policy objectives of the United States for nationals of the United States to enter certain areas under foreign jurisdiction. The Congress further finds that, in a world in which political changes and crises occur rapidly, there is a need for prompt determinations with respect to the location of such areas. It is the purpose of this Act to provide for such determinations, and to authorize, when necessary, restrictions on travel in such areas by nationals of the United States. SEC. 2. (a) The Immigration and Nationality Act (66 Stat. 163), as amended, is amended by inserting immediately after section 215 thereof the following new section: "TRAVEL CONTROL OF NATIONALS IN CERTAIN DESIGNATED AREAS OF THE WORLD "SEC. 216. (a) The Secretary of State shall, whenever he determines that the national interest and the foreign policy of the United States requires such action, cause to be compiled and published a list describing particular areas under foreign jurisdiction which may be entered by nationals of the United States only after receiving, and in accordance with, an authorization issued by the Secretary of State, or his designee, under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary. "(b) Whoever, being a national of the United States, shall willfully enter any area described and published pursuant to this section without receiving, or in violation of, an authorization issued in accordance with this section, shall be fined not more than $10,000, or imprisoned not more than two years, or both." (b) So much of the table of contents of the Immigration and Nationality Act as describes the contents of chapter 2 of title II of such Act is amended by adding at the end thereof the following: "SEC. 216. Travel control of nationals in certain designated areas of the world." STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM C. CRAMER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA Mr. CRAMER. I acknowledge the admonition of the distinguished chairman of the subcommittee. I will say, however, that I don't believe any information that I give will have any bearing on the factual situation relating to the present indictments. I think that information generally relating to travel by those students was covered by Mr. Willis yesterday and it will not be my intention to duplicate the testimony given previously where it can be avoided, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am here today to testify in support of legislation which has, as its ultimate goal, the purpose of implementing the express policy of the State Department's ban on travel to Cuba and other countries with which we do not have diplomatic relations and in which travel is contrary to our interests. In support of this legislation, I intend to exhibit the clear need for its passage, the present activities and backgrounds of some of the people it is aimed at, and the type of legislation which I believe will do the job. Through a press release dated June 29, 1961, apparently aware of the number of U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba illegally, the State Department publicly announced the following: On January 16, 1961, the Department of State publicly announced that all U.S. citizens desiring to travel to Cuba must obtain passports specifically endorsed for such travel by the Department. The Department has recently received information that some U.S. citizens are being encouraged to travel to Cuba via Central or South America without complying with the passport requirements. Travel to Cuba by a U.S. citizen, without a passport specifically validated by the Department for that purpose, constitutes a violation of the travel control law and regulations (title 8, U.S.C., sec. 1185). The Department warns all concerned that a willful violation of the law is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprisonment of not more than 5 years, or both. On April 3, 1963, in testimony before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, and I have submitted to each member a copy of my testimony before that committee, I introduced into the record of that subcommittee, a list of 99 American citizens, many with Communist backgrounds, who traveled to Cuba illegally. The list only covered 9 months in 1962. I also introduced into the record of that subcommittee advertisements which appeared in the Worker and the National Guardian wherein people openly advertised the fact that they went to Cuba. They returned to this country and were making speeches and showing films glorifying the Communist revolution in Cuba. What do some of these people do when they get to Cuba? This is answered by CIA Director John A. McCone who, in testimony before the Subcommittee on Inter-American Affairs of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on pages 65 and 66 of the printed hearings, stated the following: At least 1,000 to 1,500 persons came to Cuba during 1962, from all other Latin American countries with the possible exception of Uruguay to receive ideological indoctrination or guerrilla warfare training or both. More have gone in 1963 despite the limited facilities for reaching Cuba at present. And, the House Subcommittee on Inter-American Affairs, headed by the Mr. Selden who, incidentally, has introduced a companion bill to my latest bill which is H.R. 11603, following its hearings on "Castro Communist Subversion in the Western Hemisphere" said, in part: International Soviet agents, experts in the field of revolutionary propaganda, terrorist tactics, and guerrilla warfare, are operating schools for violence in Cuba, training and indoctrinating Latin American subversives. The Soviet Union as well as its Cuban puppet regime must bear the responsibility and consequences for subversive attacks on nations of the Western Hemisphere. This is the Subcommittee on Foreign Affairs speaking. I might point out that, at the time the committee reported its findings, it apparently wasn't aware, or at least didn't publish, that included in the list of subversives traveling to and from Cuba were U.S. citizens in 1962 alone. I say this despite the fact that, as evidenced by their press release of June 29, 1961, the State Department was well aware of the illegal travel of U.S. citizens to Cuba. Incidentally, the information I received and placed in the record came from the actual travel information relating to Cubana Airlines which at that time was operating out of Mexico City to Cuba. Of course, this subcommittee is aware, I am sure, that it is not necessary to get a passport to go to Mexico. The U.S. citizens, many of them, were going to Mexico, leaving Mexico and going to Cuba through Cubana Airlines which Mexico permits to operate. Mr. POFF. Without benefit of any passport? Mr. CRAMER. That is right. No passport is required. That is why I think my bill, H.R. 11603, is essential because it is not key to passports; it is key to all travel. A person who travels to a country restricted is subject to criminal penalty; that is all there is to it. I think that is the answer to this problem. Mr. CHELF. Do they have these so-called slip visas in their hand? Mr. CRAMER. They get that at the border. Mr. CHELF. And that takes care of the legitimate passport? Mr. CRAMER. Yes. The State Department does not know who is going, what their intention is, and no reason for inquiring. Even if they have a background for subversive activity in this country, they have no particular reason to inquire at the border because it is wide open. Now, that is the practical problem with which we are dealing. Subsequent to all of the above testimony and committee findings. a large group of American students, under the name of the "Permanent Student Committee for Travel to Cuba," ventured to Cuba, met with Castro, applauded when films were shown of American pilots being shot down in Vietnam, and then thumbed their noses at our laws when they returned. Many of us were present when, before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, these students showed their contempt for the Congress and their country. To date, although it is against both the announced policy of the State Department and the law to travel to Communist Cuba and other countries such as Red China, the Justice Department has not been able as yet to get one single conviction. Now, I will discuss the Worthy case very briefly because Mr. Willis went into it in detail. Regarding the present pending cases, I have some belief that they may be successful but it is an unusual situation under the present law. The State Department informed the studentin London personally by serving paper on them that their travel to Cuba would be illegal. They secondly served them in Prague that their travel would be illegal. Therefore, there is a predicate established of previous intention to travel prior to actual travel which makes that a unique situation. I would suggest to this subcommittee that that situation probably will not develop again as evidence these 75 students presently there. They did it by subterfuge. Now, we checked with the State Department to find out how in the world a person like Lemansky who admitted to be a Communist after he left the United States and had a background of Communist activity before that, how in the world they would give him a passport and all of these other students to go to Prague knowing that Prague was the jumping-off point to Cuba. The State Department said they had no knowledge of any specific grouping or planned program for travel to Cuba by these specific students and therefore there is no way they could not give them passports. So, you see that the other students are now under indictment who previously traveled. The new students who went in taking cognizance of the mistakes made by the previous group are not going to make the same mistakes and therefore the present law is being subverted; it is being avoided. Therefore, travel, itself, I think, is the answer making it illegal and that is what my second bill does. Now, to date, although it is against the announced policy of the State Department, the Justice Department has not been able to get one single conviction. The one conviction the United States did get was reversed by the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, on February 20, 1964. This was the case of U.S. v. Worthy (328 F. 2d 386, 1964), in which Worthy visited Cuba and then returned to this country without a valid passport. The difficulty in getting convictions is the problem of establishing the traveler's intent to visit Cuba when he leaves the United States. In most instances, these people enter another country such as Mexico and then travel to Cuba. I know that this is the problem because I have discussed it with the Department of Justice and they state this is the present law dealing with the United States. They prosecuted Worthy on the reentry aspect of the present law. Thus, it is claimed, they did not plan to visit Cuba when they left the United States but decided upon it after they reached another country. That is what these students claimed. Were these people who travel to Cuba a harmless and innocent group of young Americans seeking adventure, my fears would not be 50 great. But such is not the case. Most of these people are carefully trained by persons whose avowed aim is to turn the minds of our Nation's youth against the policies and national interests of the United States. Many of the young people in this drive are recruited directly from our college campuses. The majority of them are probably dupes, unaware of what they're doing or whose goals they are furthering. Nevertheless, dupes or not, they are serving purposes alien to those of this country and effective laws should be put on the books whereby the leaders, at least the leaders-and you will note they are the ones 36-382-64-pt. 1--5 |