AT THE POST & EMAIL!
by Sharon Rondeau
(Nov. 29, 2018) — Late Thursday morning, someone using a “USSenate” ISP accessed one of The Post & Email’s most popular articles, written by Kevin Cannon in 2015, about the Immigration & Nationality Act of 1952 (INA), also known as “Public Law 414.”
Cannon’s article, written and classified as an editorial since it contains opinion, makes the case that any group of individuals viewed by the president as potentially harmful to the United States can be prohibited entry, a debate which remains ongoing relative to the “migrant caravan” currently at the Mexico-US border and a “travel ban” imposed last year by President Trump on certain countries, most of which have Muslim-majority populations.
After a revision of his first executive order on immigration and an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court following a federal judge’s stay, the Trump administration prevailed in its bid to bar entry into the U.S. of individuals from those nations.
Cannon’s article is here: https://www.thepostemail.com/2015/12/08/public-law-414-june-27-1952/
At the time it was written, Cannon cited from the statute:
Aliens who the consular officer or the Attorney General knows or has reason to believe seek to enter the United States solely, principally, or incidentally to engage in activities which would be prejudicial to the public interest, or endanger the welfare, safety, or security of the United States.
Based on that, he reasoned:
“Islamic immigration to the US would be prohibited under this law because the Koran, Sharia Law and the Hadith all require complete submission to Islam, which is antithetical to the US government, the Constitution, and to the Republic. All Muslims who attest that the Koran is their life’s guiding principle subscribe to submission to Islam and its form of government. Now the political correct crowd would say that Islamists cannot be prohibited from entering the US because Islam is a religion. Whether it is a religion is immaterial because the law states that Aliens who are affiliated with any ‘organization’ that advocates the overthrow of our government are prohibited. It also prohibits those who distribute literature that advocates the overthrow of our country, which would include the Koran.”
Cannon provided a link to a PDF of the statute for readers’ benefit: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-66/pdf/STATUTE-66-Pg163.pdf
The law states throughout that applicants for U.S. citizenship should be “of good moral character.” It additionally confers the authority for the “administration and enforcement” of the law to be carried out by the U.S. Attorney General (pp. 173-174).
Gee, a Senator who actually wants to understand the law? Wow! Progress, I guess.