Lead Opinion
delivered the opinion of the Court.
This case involves the validity of an Alien Registration Act adopted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
A three-judge District Court enjoined enforcement of the Act, holding that it denied aliens equal protection of the laws, and that it encroached upon legislative powers constitutionally vested in the federal government.
The federal Act provides for a single registration of aliens 14 years of age and over; detailed information specified by the Act, plus “such additional matters as may be prescribed by the Commissioner, with the approval of the Attorney General”; finger-printing of all registrants; and secrecy of the federal files, which can be “made available only to such persons or agencies as may be designated by the Commissioner, with the approval of the Attorney General.” No requirement that aliens carry a registration card to be exhibited to police or
The basic subject of the state and federal laws is identical — registration of aliens as a distinct group. Appellants urge that the Pennsylvania law “was constitutional when passed,” and that “The only question is whether the state act is in abeyance or whether the state and Federal Government have concurrent jurisdiction to register aliens for the protection of inhabitants and property.” Appellees, on the other hand, contend that the Pennsylvania Act is invalid, for the reasons that it (1) denies equal protection of the laws to aliens residing in the state; (2) violates § 16 of the Civil Rights Act of 1870;
First. That the supremacy of the national power in the general field of foreign affairs, including power over immigration, naturalization and deportation, is made clear by the Constitution, was pointed out by the authors of The Federalist in 1787,
One of the most important and delicate of all international relationships, recognized immemorially as a responsibility of government, has to do with the protection of the just rights of a country’s own nationals when those nationals are in another country. Experience has shown that international controversies of the gravest moment, sometimes even leading to war, may arise from real or imagined wrongs to another’s subjects inflicted, or permitted, by a government.
Legal imposition of distinct, unusual and extraordinary burdens and obligations upon aliens — such as subjecting
Our conclusion is that appellee is correct in his contention that the power to restrict, limit, regulate, and register aliens as a distinct group is not an equal and continuously existing concurrent power of state and nation, but that whatever power a state may have is subordinate to supreme national law.
Second. For many years Congress has provided a broad and comprehensive plan describing the terms and conditions upon which aliens may enter this country, how they may acquire citizenship, and the manner in which they may be deported. Numerous treaties, in return for reciprocal promises from other governments, have pledged the solemn obligation of this nation to the end that aliens residing in .our territory shall not be singled out for the imposition of discriminatory burdens. Our Constitution and our Civil Rights Act have guaranteed to aliens “the equal protection of the laws [which] is a pledge of the protection of equal laws.”
The nature of the power exerted by Congress, the object sought to be attained, and the character of the obligations imposed by the law, are all important in considering the question of whether supreme federal enactments preclude enforcement of state laws on the same subject.
For many years bills have been regularly presented to every Congress providing for registration of aliens. Some of these bills proposed annual registration of aliens, issuance of identification cards containing information about and a photograph of the bearer, exhibition of the cards on demand, payment of an annual fee, and kindred requirements.
We have already adverted to the conditions which make the treatment of aliens, in whatever state they may be located, a matter of national moment. And whether or not registration of aliens is of such a nature that the Constitution permits only of one uniform national system, it cannot be denied that the Congress might validly conclude that such uniformity is desirable. The legislative history of the Act indicates that Congress was trying to steer a middle path, realizing that any registration requirement was a departure from our traditional policy of not treating aliens as a thing apart, but also feeling that the Nation was in need of the type of information to
Affirmed.
Notes
Pa. Stats. Ann. (Purdon, Supp. 1940) tit. 35, §§ 1801-1806.
The exceptions are: aliens who are the “father or mother of a son or daughter who has served in the service of the United States during any war”; aliens who have resided in the United States continuously since December 31, 1908, without acquiring a criminal record; and aliens who have filed their application for citizenship. The latter exception is qualified by the proviso that aliens in that category must still register if they “shall not have become naturalized within a period of three years” after applying for citizenship. Since federal law requires five years residence before citizenship can be acquired (8 U. S. C. § 382), this exception means that aliens may be exempt under the Pennsylvania statute for the first three years after their arrival but subject to the statute for the two years immediately preceding their eligibility for citizenship.
The case is here on appeal under § 266 of the Judicial Code, as amended (28 U. S. C. § 380). We noted probable jurisdiction on March 25, 1940.
Act of June 28,1940, c. 439, 54 Stat. 670.
Cf. Vandenbark v. Owens-Illinois Glass Co.,
16 Stat. 140, 144, 8 U. S. C. § 41: “All persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right in every State and Territory to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, give evidence, and to the full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of persons and property as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, penalties, taxes, licenses, and exactions of every kind, and to no other.”
Pennsylvania is not alone among the states in attempting to compel alien registration. Several states still have dormant on their statute books laws passed in 1917-18, empowering the governor to require reg
Registration statutes of Michigan and California were held unconstitutional in Arrowsmith v. Voorhies,
The importance of national power in all matters relating to foreign affairs and the inherent danger of state action in this field are clearly developed in Federalist papers No. 3, 4, 5, 42 and 80.
E. g., Henderson v. Mayor of New York,
Chinese Exclusion Case,
Chy Lung v. Freeman,
For a collection of typical international controversies that have arisen in this manner, see Dunn, The Protection of Nationals (1932), pp. 13 et seq. Cf. John Jay in Federalist paper No. 3: “The number of wars which have happened or will happen in the world will always be found to be in proportion to the number and weight of the causes, whether real or pretended, which provoke or invite them. If this remark be just, it becomes useful to inquire whether so many just causes of war are likely to be given by United America as by disunited America; for if it should turn out that United America will probably give the fewest, then it will follow that in this respect the Union tends most to preserve the people in a state of peace with other nations.”
“In consequence of the right of protection over its subjects abroad which every State enjoys, and the corresponding duty of every State to treat aliens on its territory with a certain consideration, an alien . . . must be afforded protection for his person and property. .-. . Every State is by the Law of Nations compelled to grant to aliens at least equality before the law with its citizens, as far as safety of pérson and property is concerned. An alien must in particular not be wronged in person or property by the officials and courts of a State. Thus the police must not arrest him without just cause. ...” 1 Oppenheim, International Law (5th ed., 1937), pp. 547-548. And see 4 Moore, International Law Digest, pp. 2, 27, 28; Borchard, The Diplomatic Protection of Citizens Abroad (1928), pp. 25, 37, 73, 104.
Todok v. Union State Bank,
Henderson v. Mayor of New York,
Gibbons v. Ogden,
Cf. Nielsen v. Johnson,
E. g., Hauenstein v. Lynham,
Cf. Savage v. Jones,
Express recognition of the breadth of the concurrent taxing powers of state and nation is found in Federalist paper No. 32.
It is true that where the Constitution does not of itself prohibit state action, as in matters related to interstate commerce, and where the Congress, while regulating related matters, has purposely left untouched a distinctive part of a subject which is peculiarly adapted to local regulation, the state may legislate concerning such local matters which Congress could have covered but did not. Kelly v. Washington,
As supporting the contention that the state can enforce its alien registration legislation, even though Congress has acted on the identical
Yick Wo v. Hopkins,
8 U. S. C. §§ 152, 373, 377(c), 382, 398, 399(a).
Cf. Prigg v. Pennsylvania,
As early as 1641, in the Massachusetts “Body of Liberties,” we find the statement that “Every person within this Jurisdiction, whether inhabitant or forreiner, shall enjoy the same justice and law that is generall for the plantation . . .”
1 Stat. 570, 577.
See Field, J., dissenting in Fong Yue Ting v. United States,
Quoted in Fong Yue Ting v. United States, supra, 743.
E. g., H. R. 9101 and H. R. 9147, 71st Cong., 2nd Session; see 72 Cong. Rec. 3886.
The requirement that cards be carried and exhibited has always been regarded as one of the most objectionable features of proposed registration systems, for it is thought to be a feature that best lends itself to tyranny and intimidation. Congressman Celler, speaking in
Congressman Smith, who introduced the original of the bill that as finally adopted became the 1940 Act, said in Committee: “The drafting of the biE is ... a codification of measures that have been offered from time to time. ... I have tried to eliminate from the bills that have been offered on the subject those which seemed to me would cause much controversy.” Hearings before Subcommittee No. 3 of the House Judiciary Committee, H. R. 5138, AprE 12, 1939, p. 71.
Cong. Rec., June 15, 1940, p. 12620. Senator Connally made this statement in explaining why it had been found necessary to substitute a new bill for the bill originally sent to the Senate by the House. In detaEing the care that had been taken in the drafting of the new measure, he said: “We regretted very much that we had to discard entirely the biE passed by the House and substitute a new bfll after the enacting' clause. However, we called in Mr. Murphy, of the Drafting Service, who worked with us some 2 weeks every day ... We caEed on the Department of Justice, and had the Solicitor General with us. We called in the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, and together we went over all the existing laws, and worked the new provisions into the existing laws, so as to make a harmonious whole.” This Senate version was substantiaUy the Act as finally adopted; the alien registration provisions are title III of a broader Act dealing with deportable offenses and advocacy of disloyalty in the armed forces.
In Federalist paper No,. 42, the reasons for giving this power to the federal government are thus explained: “By the laws of several States, certain descriptions of aliens, who had rendered themselves obnoxious, were laid under interdicts inconsistent not only with the rights of citizenship but with the privilege of residence. What would have been the consequence, if such persons, by residence or otherwise, had acquired the character of citizens under the laws of another State . . .? Whatever the legal consequences might have been, other consequences would probably have resulted, of too serious a nature not to be provided against. The new Constitution has accordingly, with great propriety, made provision against them, and all others proceeding from the defect of the Confederation on this head, by authorizing the general government to establish a uniform rule of naturalization throughout the United States.”
That the Congressional decision to punish only wilful transgressions was deliberate rather than inadvertent is conclusively demonstrated by the debates on the bill. E. g., Cong. Rec.j June 15, 1940, p. 12621. And see note 37, infra.
Congressman Celler, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee which reported out the bill, said in stating his intention of voting for the 1940 Act: “Mr. Speaker, judging the temper of the Nation, I believe this compromise report is the best to be had under the circumstances and I shall vote for it . . . Furthermore, I think the conferees have done a good job because the punishment is not too great . . . There must be proof . . . that the alien willfully refuses to register ... I drew the minority report against this bill originally, because it provided some very harsh provisions against aliens. Some of the harshness and some of the severity of the original bill have been eliminated . . . I'must admit that it is the best to be had under the circumstances.” Cong. Rcc., June 22, 1940, pp. 13468-9.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting:
I think the judgment below should be reversed.
Undoubtedly Congress, in the exercise of its power to legislate in aid of powers granted by the Constitution to the national government may greatly enlarge the exercise of federal authority and to an extent which need not now be defined, it may, if such is its will, thus subtract from the powers which might otherwise be exercised by
At a time when the exercise of the federal power is being rapidly expanded through Congressional action, it is difficult to overstate the importance of safeguarding against such diminution of state power by vague inferences as to what Congress might have intended if it had considered the matter or by reference to our own conceptions of a policy which Congress has not expressed and which is not plainly to be inferred from the legislation which it has enacted. Cf. Graves v. O’Keefe,
The opinion of the Court does not deny, and I see no reason to doubt that the Pennsylvania registration statute, when passed, was a lawful exercise of the constitutional power of the state. With exceptions not now material it requires aliens resident in the state, who have not declared their intention to become citizens, to register annually, to pay a registration fee of $1.00, and to carry a registration identification card. It affords to the state a convenient method of ascertaining the number and whereabouts of aliens within the state, which it is entitled to know, and a means of their identification. It is an available aid in the enforcement of a number of statutes of the state applicable to aliens whose constitu
The national government has exclusive control over the admission of aliens into the United States but, after entry, an alien resident within a state, like a citizen, is subject to the police powers of the state and, in the exercise of that power, state legislatures may pass laws applicable exclusively to aliens so long as the distinction taken between aliens and citizens is not shown to be without rational basis. Patsone v. Pennsylvania, supra; Terrace v. Thompson,
The opinion of the Court does not support its conclusion upon the ground that in the absence of federal legislation on the subject there is any want of power in the state to pass the present statute. It does not suggest, nor could it well do so, that in the absence of Congressional action the Pennsylvania statute either by its own terms or in its operation interferes with or obstructs the author
The question presented here is a different one from that considered in Henderson v. Mayor of New York,
Title I of the federal statute penalizes certain acts of any persons intended to interfere with, impair or influence the loyalty, morale or discipline of the military or naval forces of the United States. Title II, among other things, provides for the deportation of aliens after con
It is conceded that the federal act in operation does not at any point conflict with the state statute, and it does not by its terms purport to control or restrict state authority in any particular. But the government says that Congress by passing the federal act, has “occupied the field” so as to preclude the enforcement of the state statute and that the administration of the latter might well conflict with Congressional policy to protect the civil liberty of aliens against the harassments of intrusive police surveillance.
Little aid can be derived from the vague and illusory but often repeated formula that Congress “by occupying the field” has excluded from it all state legislation. Every Act of Congress occupies some field, but we must know the boundaries of that field before we can say that it has precluded a state from the exercise of any power reserved to it by the Constitution. To discover
Federal statutes passed in aid of a granted power obviously supersede state statutes with which they conflict. Pennsylvania R. Co. v. Illinois Brick Co.,
The exercise of the federal legislative power is certainly not more potent to curtail the exercise of state power over aliens than is the exercise of the treaty making power. Yet as we have seen no treaty has that effect unless it conflicts with a state statute. The passage of the National Pure Food & Drug Act did not preclude the states from supplementing it by like additional requirements not conflicting with those of the Congressional act. Savage v. Jones,
The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the civil liberties of aliens as well as of citizens against infringement by state action in the enactment of laws and their administration as well. Again we are pointed to nothing in the Federal Alien Registration Act or in the records of its passage through Congress to indicate that Congress thought those guarantees inadequate or that in requiring registration of all aliens it undertook to prevent the states from passing any registration measure otherwise constitutional. True, it was careful to bring the new
Here compliance with the state law does not preclude or even interfere with compliance with the act of Congress. The enforcement of both acts involves no more inconsistency, no more inconvenience to the individual, and no more embarrassment to either government than do any of the laws, state and national, such as revenue laws, licensing laws, or police regulations, where interstate commerce is involved, which are equally applied to the citizen because he is subject, as are aliens, to a dual sovereignty.
Tit. 34 § 1311.1001, Purdon’s Penn. Stat. Ann., prohibiting hunting by aliens, was sustained in the Patsone case,