I offer the second amendment merely to preserve the last part of the proviso of section 303. Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Shaughnessy, all this does is simply remove the exclusion of the Asiatics. In a nutshell, that is all it does. Mr. SHAUGHNESSY. It does one more thing; it removes the_racial bar to naturalization of persons of the Philippine race, and, as I see it, the minimum quota for the total number of Filipinos will have to be established, which will be 100 [later ascertained quota would be 50 per annum] under the existing statutes, and then that will permit 100 [50] a year to come in. The CHAIRMAN. Then without objection the amendments offered by the Justice Department, as suggested by the committee, will be agreed to and will be incorporated in the McGehee bill, which is H. R. 4826. Now I understand Mr. Siminoff wants to make a statement. Will you please be brief? STATEMENT OF TONY SIMINOFF, LOS ANGELES, CALIF. Mr. SIMINOFF. I do not propose to present an extended statement to this committee. I came from the Philippine Islands when I was 15. I have seen the Filipinos working since 1898 and I can testify to this: In the cities of Los Angeles, Oakland, Stockton, Sacramento, and other cities the Filipinos have proven themselves worthy of being citizens. In many respects they excel us. In many instances they have made excellent contributions to the agricultural part of California, and I have always felt-in fact, way back in 1939 when I spoke to my colleagues at that time, I urged them to have a bill presented such as that which has been offered by Congressman Sheppard. The Sheppard bill seems to me to cover the situation. The rest of your bills are somewhat too devious. That is about all I want to say. I want to thank you. Mr. Campbell, who is with me, is also a Spanish War veteran who would like to talk. The CHAIRMAN. We will let him put in a statement. Any individual or organization who wants to file a statement can do so within the next 24 hours. Without objection, H. R. 4826, introduced by Mr. McGehee, with the amendments that have been considered, will be reported. Before we proceed with other business I want to submit the following material for the record, which will be inserted in the appendix: First is a letter from the Department of State, under date of November 20, 1944; then there is a letter from the Attorney General, under date of June 20, 1944; a letter from the Secretary of the Interior, under date of June 13, 1944; a letter from Jaime Hernandez, Secretary of Finance, Commonwealth of the Philippines, with a number of telegrams; and a resolution submitted by the State of Washington. These memoranda will appear in the appendix to the record. The memoranda above referred to are made a part of the appendix.) Mr. SHAUGHNESSY. A number of women have been held prisoners who are aliens. The CHAIRMAN. This last amendment would cover it. Mr. SHAUGHNESSY. It says, "since May 1, 1930." The CHAIRMAN. On this last bill? Mr. SHAUGHNESSY. There is some question as to whether the Philippine Islands can be considered outlying possessions; and, in any event, as soon as independence becomes final, most definitely it will not be considered an outlying possession; so if he is interested in protecting persons, citizens of the United States, who have resided part of their time in the Philippine Islands The CHAIRMAN. I think a certain number live there now. Mr. ALLEN. We will be here in January. We will have a hard time in getting some of this through. There is the possibility of an adjournment in a short while. The CHAIRMAN. We will try to get this bill up under unanimous consent in 48 hours, and we do not want to load on too many questions. Now, without objection, H. R. 2012, H. R. 2776, H. R. 3633, H. R. 4003, and H. R. 4229 will be tabled. They are all other Filipino bills. (Thereupon the committee proceeded to the consideration of other business.) APPENDIX The Honorable SAMUEL DICKSTEIN, DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, November 20, 1944. Chairman, Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. DICKSTEIN: The Department has ben importuned at various times to support legislation to make Filipinos eligible to naturalization in the United States. While I am not unmindful of the fact that the question whether the privilege of naturalization should be extended to members of any race not now eligible to naturalization is a matter involving legislative policy, I do not consider that I would be unwarranted in pointing out that the Filipino people have long shown their attachments to the ideals and principles of the United States; that they have a long and unbroken record of loyalty to the United States; that they have valiantly resisted the invaders of the Philippines and arë continuing to do so; that Filipinos are now serving in the military forces of the United States, the maritime service, and the essential war industries in this country; and that Filipinos in the United States have always been held in high esteem by the American people. While I could cite many reasons why Filipinos should be made eligible to naturalization, I know of no reason why they should not be. I have ascertained that there are now pending before Congress a number of bills to authorize the naturalization of Filipinos. One such bill, H. R. 4826, which was introduced in the House of Representatives on May 18, 1944, by Representative McGehee and which was referred to your committee, comes nearest to meeting the views of the Department. Its enactment would make Filipino persons or persons of Filipino descent eligible to naturalization in the United States. The Department believes, however, that a proviso should be added to section 1 of the bill reading somewhat along the following lines: "Provided, That no certificate of arrival shall be required of any Filipino person or person of Filipino descent who is now a citizen of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, and who entered the United States prior to May 1, 1934, and has since continuously resided in the United States." Prior to May 1, 1934, Filipino persons or persons of Filipino descent who owed allegiance to the United States generally were not considered aliens for immigration purposes and no record could have been made of their entry into the United States as aliens upon which a certificate of arrival could be issued. Since May 21, 1934, records have been made of the admission to the United States of all such persons as aliens. It would seem inequitable for a Filipino person or a person of Filipino descent who is now a citizen of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and who entered the United States prior to May 1, 1934, and has since continuously resided herein to be unable to become naturalized because of his inability to obtain a certificate of arrival. For this reason a proviso such as that suggested would seem desirable and just. I should be pleased if the Congress in its wisdom should approve H. R. 4826 with the amendment above suggested or any similar bill having the same purpose. The Department has been informed by the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection to the transmission of such report as the State Department may deem appropriate after considering the suggestions made by the Attorney General in his letter dated October 17, 1944, of which a copy is enclosed, together with a copy of the letter of transmittal from the Bureau of the Budget. Sincerely yours, E. R. STETTINIUS, Jr., Enclosures: Copy of letter from Attorney General; copy of letter from Bureau of the Budget. 28 EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, BUREAU OF THE BUDGET, Washington, D. C., November 18, 1944. The Honorable, the SECRETARY OF STATE. By reason of the interest of the Department of Justice in the subject matter of this proposal its views were requested, and there is transmitted herewith a copy of the Attorney General's letter, dated October 17, 1944, in which he favors the general objective of the bill but questions the necessity of the proviso which the State Department suggests be added to section 1 with respect to certificates of arrival and also suggests an amendment to section 1 with respect to the naturalization of persons who have been citizens of the United States but lost their citizenship prior to September 22, 1922. One copy of your proposed report is returned herewith, and I am authorized by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget to advise you that, subject to your consideration of the suggestions made by the Attorney General, there would be no objection to the Department submitting a report favorable to the enactment of the proposed legislation. This office has advised the Attorney General that there would be no objection to his submission of a report to the committee setting forth the views expressed in his letter of October 17, 1944, addressed to this office: Very truly yours, F. J. BAILEY, Assistant Director, Legislative Reference. Enclosures: Copy of proposed report, copy of letter from Justice, dated October 17, 1944. OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Hon. SAMUEL DICKSTEIN, Chairman, Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in response to your request for my views concerning several bills (H. R. 2012, H. R. 3633, H. R. 4003, and H. R. 4229) to repeal in part the statutory bar based on racial grounds against the naturalization of Filipinos. H. R. 2012 would repeal the bar as to those Filipinos who are native citizens of the Philippine Islands and who are permanent residents of the United States. H. R. 3633 would repeal the bar as to native-born Filipinos who served in the armed forces of the United States between April 5, 1917, and November 12, 1918, and who were honorably discharged. This bill would also exempt this group from the requirements of the naturalization laws in respect to declarations of intention and certificates of arrival. H. R. 4003 would remove the bar as to all native-born Filipinos who prior to May 1, 1934, were admitted for permanent residence to the United States. The bill would also exempt them from the requirement of the naturalization laws in respect to certificates of arrival. H. R. 4229 would remove the bar as to all native-born Filipinos who are permanent residents of the United States and all Filipinos and persons of Filipino descent who served in the armed forces of the United States between April 5, 1917, and November 12, 1918, and were honorably discharged. In addition, the bill would exempt them from the requirements of the naturalization laws in respect to declarations of intention and certificates of arrival. Whether the privilege of naturalization should be extended to Filipinos is a question of legislative policy concerning which I prefer not to offer any suggestions. According to the records of this Department, under the Alien Registration Act of 1940 the total number of aliens registered who were natives of the Philippine Islands was 83,677, of whom 78,587 were males and 5,090 were females. Α large percentage of Filipinos residing in the United States are found in Hawaii. Referring to H. R. 2012, it is not clear whether this bill is intended to be limited only to those Filipinos who would be permanent residents of the United States on the date of approval of the act or whether it would be equally applicable to Filipinos who might thereafter become permanent residents of the United States. If this bill is to receive favorable consideration, it is suggested that as a matter of phraseology it should be modified so as to constitute an amendment to section 303 of the Nationality Code (U. S. C., title 8, sec. 703), which relates to racial bars to naturalization. If H. R. 3633, which is limited to Filipino World War veterans, is to receive favorable consideration, I suggest for consideration the question whether the bill should not be broadened so as to include all veterans of the First World War instead of being restricted to Filipino veterans of that war. Referring to H. R. 4003, which is directed to native-born Filipinos who were lawfully admitted to permanent residence to the United States prior to May 1, 1934, it is not clear why the date of May 1, 1934, was selected. In addition, the comments made in reference to H. R. 2012 are equally applicable to this bill. H. R. 4229 is a combination of H. R. 2012 and H. R. 3633, as it relates to Filipinos who are permanent residents of the United States as well as to Filipino veterans of the First World War. The comments heretofore made in regard to H. R. 2012 and H. R. 3633 are equally applicable to this bill. I have been advised by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely yours, Hon. SAMUEL DICKSTEIN, FRANCIS M. BIDDLE. THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, Chairman, Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. DICKSTEIN: You have requested a report from this Department on H. R. 4229, a bill to authorize the naturalization of native-born Filipinos who are permanent residents of the United States and Filipinos who served in the military or naval forces of the United States during World War I. If this bill is revised to accord with the principles and recommendations stated in this report, I am in favor of its enactment. H. R. 4229 would extend the privilege of naturalization to two classes of Filipinos: (1) Any native-born Filipino who is a permanent resident of the United States. (2) Any Filipino or person of Filipino descent who served in the armed forces of the United States during the First World War. Both classes would be required to comply with the usual requirements of the naturalization laws, such as 5 years' residence in the United States, except that they need not make a declaration of intention or obtain a certificate of arrival. I am in favor of the principle that if a person is entitled to live permanently in the United States, he should be given the privilege of naturalization. In the case of Philippine citizens particularly, this is desirable. There is a special need to remedy the situation of divided family citizenship in the United States which has resulted from marriages between Philippine citizens and citizens of the United States. If the privilege of naturalization is extended to Filipinos, however, I believe that, as a matter of general policy, they should be required to comply with all the requirements of the naturalization laws. Accordingly, I believe that the provision in this bill waiving the declaration of intention and certificate of arrival should be made applicable only to Filipinos already permanently residing in this country and not to future arrivals. Most of the former probably have now the 5 years of residence requisite for naturalization and there would seem to be no particular reason for further delaying their admission to citizenship by the time period involved in filing a declaration of intention. The same considerations do not apply to future arrivals. As to the provisions of this bill concerning Filipino veterans, however, I see no particular purpose to be served by them if naturalization is to be extended |