The liberal sentiments of Thomas Jefferson appeared in his early recommendation of a revision of the law requiring fourteen years’ residence: “Shall we refuse the refuge extended to our fathers,” said he, in substance, “to the unhappy fugitives from distress arriving in this land? Shall oppressed humanity find no asylum on this globe?” But at the same time he remarked that for admission to certain offices of trust, a residence should be required sufficient to develop character and an appreciation of the design of our institutions.
James Madison’s interest in the subject was exhibited throughout his administration, and especially in his activities on the floor of Congress.
President Buchanan insisted upon the full status for naturalized citizens.
Our Government is bound [said he] to protect the rights of our naturalized citizens everywhere to the same extent as though they had drawn their first breath in this country. We can recognize no distinction between our native and naturalized citizens.
Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson touched upon the question of the French and Russian claims upon immigrants who came here merely to escape military service; Lincoln pointing out that there should be a time limit beyond which the United States would not attempt to protect persons who came here for that reason and then returned to their native countries claiming to be American citizens; Johnson, on the other hand, emphasizing the effect of naturalization in absolving the individual from all former allegiance. President Grant urged Congress to define the conditions of expatriation, and to regulate by law the status of children of aliens becoming naturalized, and that of American women marrying noncitizens. He also drew attention to the growing evil of fraudulent naturalization, and urged the establishment of a system of uniform certificates and records.
President Arthur also called for a central bureau of registry, and for a general revision of the naturalization law, pointing out that much of it now had only historical interest, that the provisions regarding children of naturalized parents were ambiguous, and that the constitutional authority to establish “an uniform rule” called for a clear definition of the status of “persons born within the United States subject to a foreign power, and minor children of fathers who have declared their intention but have failed to perfect their naturalization.”
President Cleveland devoted a good deal of attention to the subject. He, too, emphasized the need of centralized Federal control over the records, and repeatedly called for a general revision of the law, insisting that the “privilege and franchise of American citizenship” should be granted with scrupulous care. He gave warning against “the easy and unguarded manner in which certificates of naturalization can now be obtained,” and the growth of a class of persons who availed themselves of it for political purposes.
Benjamin Harrison emphasized the need of an investigation of the moral character of the applicant for citizenship, to make more certain the existence of a “good disposition toward our government”; calling also for a more particular system of court hearings, with proper opportunity for representatives of the government to appear. He declared that “avowed enemies of social order” should be denied not only citizenship, but even domicile here. He also adverted to the evils of fraudulent naturalization.
DEFINITE REFORM AT LAST
It was the growing realization of this general condition, of the notorious ease with which naturalization could be acquired; the wholesale issue and sale of fraudulent certificates; the debauching of elections through the manipulation of the “foreign vote,” and the general cheapening of the franchise, that brought the subject to a head. It was common knowledge that these frauds were prevalent wherever there were large numbers of foreign-born people, and that both of the great political parties vied with each other in exhausting ingenuity to devise methods for the exploitation of the alien population. Which party excelled in the business depended almost entirely upon which was dominant in any particular community. The situation was a scandal in any event, and the sober sentiment of the nation realized increasingly that something must be done about it.