During the heat of the Quasi War with France, In 1798, Congress passed the Naturalization Act which changed the residency requirements to become a naturalized citizen from 5 years to 14 years. Also, in 1798 Congress passed acts which allowed the president to imprison and deport non citizens who were seemed dangerous (Alien Friends Act) or were from a hostile nation (Alien Enemies Act). A fourth act was passed that criminalized making false systems that were critical of the federal government (Sedition Act). These four acts, known as the Alien and Sedition Acts were believed to strengthen national security, but when the Democratic-Republican party and Thomas Jefferson came to power in 1801, all but the Alien Friends act was repealed.
In Jefferson's second year, Congress passed the Naturalization Act of 1802. This act repealed the Naturalization Act of 1798 and directed the clerk to record the entry of all aliens into the United States. The clerk collected basic information including nation of allegiance, country of emigration, and where they intended to settle in America. Each applicant received a certificate that could be used as evidence in court regarding their time of arrival in the United States.
In his first joint address to Congress, President Thomas Jefferson strongly condemned the nation's restrictive policies on immigration. Jefferson was not only speaking to members of Congress, but he was speaking to the States collectively. In 1801, immigration power was in the hands of the states more so than the federal government. Congress had passed the Alien and Sedition acts during an undeclared war and some questioned it's legal authority to do so. There was no constitutional limitation on who should be allowed to reside within the United States. As President, Thomas Jefferson was determined to repeal these Acts. In his argument against them, Jefferson used some powerful words that even today have an impact on our nation's immigration policies. "Shall oppressed humanity find no asylum on this globe?" Thomas Jefferson viewed America as a land of opportunity for all the world. Aside from a guard against our avowed enemies, Jefferson believed our borders should be open to all those with a "bona fide purpose of embarking his life and fortunes permanently with us". He especially wanted the our borders open to natives of the land, "the unhappy fugitives from distress that hospitality which the savages of the wilderness extended to our fathers arriving in this land".
"I can not omit recommending a revisal of the laws on the subject of naturalization. Considering the ordinary chances of human life, a denial of citizenship under a residence of 14 years is a denial to a great proportion of those who ask it, and controls a policy pursued from their 1st settlement by many of these States, and still believed of consequence to their prosperity; and shall we refuse to the unhappy fugitives from distress that hospitality which the savages of the wilderness extended to our fathers arriving in this land? Shall oppressed humanity find no asylum on this globe? The Constitution indeed has wisely provided that for admission to certain offices of important trust a residence shall be required sufficient to develop character and design. But might not the general character and capabilities of a citizen be safely communicated to everyone manifesting a bona fide purpose of embarking his life and fortunes permanently with us, with restrictions, perhaps, to guard against the fraudulent usurpation of our flag, an abuse which brings so much embarrassment and loss on the genuine citizen and so much danger to the nation of being involved in war that no endeavor should be spared to detect and suppress it?"It is interesting to note, that while the constitution does define restrictions for holding federal office, it does not clearly define federal power to regulate immigration. For the first 100 years of our country, the Courts had argued that the source of federal power to regulate immigration was a combination of international and constitutional legal principles. Then in 1889, the Chinese Exclusion Act became the first case to hold that the federal power to exclude non-citizens is an incident of national sovereignty. The court reached the conclusion that every national government has the inherent authority to protect the nation and public interest, and since immigration is a matter of vital national concern, it is therefore the role Federal government to oversee it. This settled the question on immigration and gave the federal government the inherent sovereign power to regulate immigration.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=29443
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_and_Sedition_Acts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalization_Law_of_1802
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/immigrationlaw/chapter2.html
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/10/5/1412512012848/Turkey-syrian-refugees-ku-014.jpg
what was the federalist's view on to this repealed act?
ReplyDeleteThe author does not point out that the Sedition Act in effect repealed the First Amendment. The Act provided stiff penalties for criticizing the federal government in the press, despite the Constitution's guarantee of a free press. Freedom for me, but not for thee?
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