Americanization; Civics; Immigrants -- United States; Naturalization -- United States; Noncitizens -- United States
The identity of the declarant should be clearly established; he
should have and present a certificate of “lawful entry” into the
country; there should be no confusion or doubt about the name under
which he goes; his photograph, fingerprints, signature, or other
means of unmistakable identification should be attached; all of the
essential facts concerning his nativity, previous residence, marital,
status, occupation, and other things germane to an application for
so vital a change of relationship should be set forth clearly and
suitably attested. As at present, copies of the declaration should be
in the possession of the declarant, and on file in the court and in
the Naturalization Bureau.
It might well be required that the declarant should register with the
court or with the Naturalization Bureau every change of residence,
so that the record of his movements and behavior during the entire
period of his “probation” would be available.
The fact of the making of the declaration should be publicly posted,
so that not only the court and the government, but the general
public, should be put upon notice that a “new member” is applying for
admission. And when it comes into court at last as an indispensable
part of the record in the case, its sufficiency as a document should
be taken for granted. The responsibility for technical errors in it
should lie upon the officer who accepted and attested it; substantial
errors of fact should exist only under penalties as for other kinds
of perjury. The burden of proof against its validity should lie upon
the government or any other person attacking it.
Under the law as now enforced, the declaration of intention expires
at the end of seven years; but there is nothing to prevent its
renewal, and in those states in which formerly declarants had the
right to vote, all the politically important rights of citizenship
could be, and in many cases were, kept alive, as it were, perpetually
by such renewals without any other test or ceremony. Even now, the
other privileges of citizenship may be thus perpetuated by persons
who on no theory could “get by” in a naturalization court. It should
be made at least much more difficult to renew a declaration once
expired. The burden of proof should rest upon the alien to show why
he did not make final application for citizenship within the period
during which his declaration was valid. A judge in Oregon, expressing
the opinion of many judges on this point said:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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