Hmm - McCarran-Walter Act

One of you kindly provided this additional information - I have checked this reference out. I hadn’t heard about this act though it does appear to have been refernced in our president’s Muslim BAN Executive Order. If you go to the site, you will see that the law is a result of an earlier time of “nationalism,” too. That doesn’t justify it, just provides perspective.

The McCarran-Walter Act, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, allows for the "Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by the President, whenever the President finds that the entry of aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. The President may, by proclamation, and for such a period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or non-immigrants, or impose any restrictions on the entry of aliens he may deem to be appropriate."

Read President Truman’s original veto message! There is also a list of people excluded before the act was amended in 1990. There have been modifications to the act since 1952.

President Jimmy Carter was the last to use this, no less than 37 years ago, in 1979, to keep Iranians out of the United States.

“Amendment 1 - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” Attributed to Winston Churchill