The
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (
Pub.L. 82–414, 66
Stat. 163, enacted June 27, 1952), also known as the
McCarran–Walter Act, restricted immigration into the U.S. and is codified under
Title 8 of the United States Code (
8 U.S.C. ch. 12). The Act governs primarily immigration to and citizenship in the United States. It has been in effect since December 24, 1952.
The Act was sponsored by two Democrats; H.R. 5678 was named after its sponsors, Senator
Pat McCarran (D-
Nevada), and Congressman
Francis Walter (D-
Pennsylvania).
Speaking in the Senate on March 2, 1953, the Democrat, McCarran, said (
Senator Pat McCarran, Cong. Rec., March 2, 1953, p. 1518):
I believe that this nation is the last hope of Western civilization
and if this oasis of the world shall be overrun, perverted, contaminated
or destroyed, then the last flickering light of humanity will be
extinguished. I take no issue with those who would praise the
contributions which have been made to our society by people of many
races, of varied creeds and colors. ... However, we have in the United
States today hard-core, indigestible blocs which have not become
integrated into the American way of life, but which, on the contrary are
its deadly enemies. Today, as never before, untold millions are
storming our gates for admission and those gates are cracking under the
strain. The solution of the problems of Europe and Asia will not come
through a transplanting of those problems en masse to the United States.
... I do not intend to become prophetic, but if the enemies of this
legislation succeed in riddling it to pieces, or in amending it beyond
recognition, they will have contributed more to promote this nation's
downfall than any other group since we achieved our independence as a
nation.
America is the last hope of Western
Civilization and if overrun by any creed (such as Islamism) or any race
(i.e., Hispanic or others) that does not assimilate or are enemies of America the
nation will decline as a result.
In fact,
Federal law does permit a president to ban those who are deemed security risks from entering the country. The relevant passage states:
"Whenever
the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of
aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of
the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he
shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of
aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens
any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate. Whenever the Attorney
General finds that a commercial airline has failed to comply with
regulations of the Attorney General relating to requirements of airlines
for the detection of fraudulent documents used by passengers traveling
to the United States (including the training of personnel in such
detection), the Attorney General may suspend the entry of some or all
aliens transported to the United States by such airline."
Cf. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1182
During the latest controversy over immigration, Khizr Khan spoke alongside his wife Ghazala Khan at the Democratic National Convention. On
behalf of Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president,
Khizr Khan questioned Donald Trump’s policies on
immigration—specifically his plan to bar Muslim migration from regions
afflicted with rampant terrorism into America temporarily until the
United States can figure out the situation.
Khan
brought out a pocket Constitution, claiming inaccurately that Trump’s
plans were unconstitutional. That’s not true, as Congress has already
granted such power to the president under
the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952—allowing the president to
bar migration of any alien or class of aliens the president sees as a
threat to the United States for any reason at any time. Such a class of
aliens could be Muslims, or it could be people from a specific region of
the world, or any other class—such as someone’s race, weight, height,
age, national origin, religion, or anything else.