Title: The Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Administration of the Naturalization and Citizenship Laws
Abstract: The Immigration and Nationality Act of June 27, 1952 (66 Stat. 163) contains the current provisions under which aliens may become naturalized citizens of the United States, and other foreign-born persons may obtain certificates of citizenship evidencing their acquisition of citizenship through their parents by operation of law. While the Attorney General has complete and final statutory authority to hear and decide cases in this last category, the statute divides the authority to administer the naturalization process between him and members of the Federal and State judiciary, with the courts alone being empowered to grant or deny naturalization to the alien. The authority of the Attorney General to administer the naturaliza? tion and citizenship laws has been delegated in full to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. During 1970, after required administrative hearings, the Service issued certificates of citizenship to 29,515 applicants who had become citizens either at birth abroad to citizen parents or after birth through the subsequent naturalization of their parents. Within the same period, the courts admitted 115,110 aliens to United States citizenship, after they had been investigated and examined by Service officers to determine their qualifications for naturalization. The true measure of responsibility in this last area should recognize that more than 99% of these naturalized persons were granted citizenship solely upon favorable recommendations by Service officers, and without fur? ther inquiry or investigations by the courts. The exercise of the Attorney General's authority by the Service has sought to assure all applicants every opportunity to establish their eligibility for naturalization and citizenship benefits at the earliest possible moment, in fair and impartial administrative proceedings, and at a minimum cost to them in money, time, and inconvenience. This article considers some of the policies which have proved effective in the realiza? tion of these objectives, dwells upon the extent to which a liberal but sound approach to the construction of statutory law and other measures have been successful in surmounting technical difficulties and problems which hindered the naturalization of qualified aliens, and identifies some areas in which improvement in the naturalization process could be achieved through legislative changes.
Publication Year: 1971
Publication Date: 1971-11-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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