THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT,

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POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND THE COMMISSIONER

SEC. 103. (a) The Attorney General shall be charged with the administration and enforcement of this Act and all other laws relating to the immigration and naturalization of aliens, except insofar as this Act or such laws relate to the powers, functions, and duties conferred upon the President, the Secretary of State, the officers of the Department of State, or diplomatic or consular officers: Provided, however, That determination and ruling by the Attorney General with respect to all questions of law shall be controlling. He shall have control, direction, and supervision of all employees and of all the files and records of the Service. He shall establish such regulations; prescribe such forms of bond, reports, entries, and other papers; issue such instructions; and perform such other acts as he deems necessary for carrying out his authority under the provisions of this Act. He is authorized, in accordance with the civil-service laws and regulations and the Classification Act of 1949, to appoint such employees of the Service as he deems necessary, and to delegate to them or to any officer or employee of the Department of Justice in his discretion any of the duties and powers imposed upon him in this Act; he may require or authorize any employee of the Service or the Department of Justice to perform or exercise any of the powers, privileges, or duties conferred or imposed by this Act or regulations issued thereunder upon any other employee of the Service. He shall have the power and duty to control and guard the boundaries and borders of the United States against the illegal entry of aliens and shall, in his discretion, appoint for that purpose such number of employees of the Service as to him shall appear necessary and proper. He is authorized to confer or impose upon any employee of the United States, with the consent of the head of the Department or other independent establish

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carry out the provisions of this Act. (Act of June 20, 1941; 22 U. S. C. 223.)

COMMISSIONER OF IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION; ADMINISTRATION OF IMMIGRATION LAWS; RULES AND REGULATIONS; PROTECTION OF ALIENS; CONTRACTS FOR SUPPORT OF DISTRESSED ALIENS; DETAIL OF IMMIGRATION AND MEDICAL OFFICERS; IMMIGRATION OFFICERS; DUTIES; LANDING STATIONS FOR ALIEN PASSENGERS TRANSPORTED FROM CANADA OR MEXICO

SEC. 23. That the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization shall perform all his duties under the direction of the Attorney General. He shall receive a salary of $10,000 per annum. Under such direction he shall have charge of the administration of all laws relating to the immigration of aliens into the United States, and shall have the control, direction, and supervision of all officers, clerks, and employees appointed thereunder; he shall establish such rules and regulations, prescribe such forms of bond, reports, entries, and other papers, and shall issue from time to time such instructions not inconsistent with law, as he shall deem best calculated for carrying out the provisions of this Act and for protecting the United States and aliens migrating thereto from fraud and loss, and shall have authority to enter into contract for the support and relief of such aliens as may fall into distress or need public aid, and to remove to their native country, or the country from whence they came, or to the country of which they are citizens or subjects, at any time after entry, at the expense of the appropriations for the enforcement of this Act, such as fall into distress or need public aid from causes arising subsequent to their entry and are desirous of being so removed, but any person thus removed shall forever be ineligible for readmission except upon the approval of the Secretary of State and the Attorney General. shall prescribe rules for the entry and inspection of aliens coming to the United States from or through Canada and Mexico, so as not unnecessarily to delay, impede, or annoy persons in ordinary travel between the United States and said countries, and shall have power to enter into contracts with transportation lines for the said purpose. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization to detail officers of the Immi

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THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT,

PUBLIC LAW 414

ment under whose jurisdiction the employee is serving, any of the powers, privileges, or duties conferred or imposed by this Act or regulations issued thereunder upon officers or employees of the Service. He may, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, establish offices of the Service in foreign countries; and, after consultation with the Secretary of State, he may, whenever in his judgment such action may be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Act, detail employees of the Service for duty in foreign countries. (b) The Commissioner shall be a citizen of the United States and shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and shall receive compensation at the rate of $17,500 per annum. He shall be charged with any and all responsibilities and authority in the administration of the Service and of this Act which are conferred upon the Attorney General as may be delegated to him by the Attorney General or which may be prescribed by the Attorney General.

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gration and Naturalization Service from time to time as may be necessary, in his judgment, to secure information as to the number of aliens detained in the penal, reformatory, and charitable institutions (public and private) of the several States and Territories, the District of Columbia, and other territory of the United States, and to inform the officers of such institutions of the provisions of law in relation to the deportation of aliens who have become public charges. He may, with the approval of the Attorney General, whenever in his judgment such action may be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this Act, detail immigration officers for service in foreign countries; and, upon his request, approved by the Attorney General, the Federal Security Administrator may detail medical officers of the United States Public Health Service for the performance of duties in foreign countries in connection with the enforcement of this Act (8 U. S. C. 101-02). The duties of immigration and naturalization officials in charge of districts, ports, or stations shall be of an administrative character, to be prescribed in detail by regulations prepared under the direction or with the approval of the Attorney General (8 U. S. C. 108): Provided, That no person, company, or transportation line engaged in carrying alien passengers for hire from Canada or Mexico to the United States, whether by land or water, shall be allowed to land any such passengers in the United States without providing suitable and approved landing stations, conveniently located, at the point or points of entry. The Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization is hereby authorized and empowered to prescribe the conditions, not inconsistent with law, under which the above-mentioned landing stations shall be deemed suitable within the meaning of this section. Any person, company, or transportation line landing an alien passenger in the United States without compliance with the requirement herein set forth shall be deemed to have violated section eight of this Act, and upon conviction shall be subject to the penalty therein prescribed (8. U. S. C. 160): Provided further, That for the purpose of making effective the provisions of this section relating to the protection of aliens from fraud and loss, and also the provisions of section thirty of this Act, relating to the distribution of aliens, the Attorney General shall establish and

THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT,

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maintain immigrant stations at such interior places as may be necessary, and, in the discretion of the said Attorney General, aliens in transit from ports of landing to such interior stations shall be accompanied by immigrant inspectors (8 U. S. C. 161): Provided further, That in prescribing rules and making contracts for the entry and inspection of aliens applying for admission from or through foreign contiguous territory, due care shall be exercised to avoid any discriminatory action in favor of foreign contiguous territory, due care shall be exercised to avoid any discriminatory action in favor of foreign transportation companies transporting to such territory aliens destined to the United States, and all such transportation companies shall be required, as a condition precedent to the inspection or examination under such rules and contracts at the ports of such contiguous territory of aliens brought thereto by them, to submit to and comply with all the requirements of this Act which would apply were they bringing such aliens directly to seaports of the United States, and, from and after the taking effect of this Act, no alien applying for admission from foreign contiguous territory shall be permitted to enter the United States unless upon proving that he was brought to such territory by a transportation company which had submitted to and complied with all the requirements of this Act or that he entered, or had resided in, such territory more than two years prior to the date of his application for admission to the United States. (Act of 1917, sec. 23.)

IMMIGRATION OFFICERS; APPOINTMENT

SEC. 24. That immigrant inspectors and other immigration and naturalization officers, clerks, and employees shall hereafter be appointed and their compensation fixed and raised or decreased from time to time by the Attorney General, upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, and in accordance with the provisions of the civilservice Act of January sixteenth, eighteen hundred and eighty-three: Provided, That said Attorney General, in the enforcement of that portion of this Act which excludes contract laborers and induced and assisted immigrants, may employ, for such purposes and for detail upon additional service under this Act when not so engaged, without ref

THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT,

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erence to the provisions of the said civil-service Act, or to the various Acts relative to the compilation of the Official Register, such persons as he may deem advisable and from time to time fix, raise, or decrease their compensation. He may draw annually from the appropriation for the enforcement of this Act $200,000, or as much thereof as may be necessary, to be expended for the salaries and expenses of persons so employed and for expenses incident to such employment; and the accounting officers of the General Accounting Office shall pass to the credit of the proper disbursing officer expenditures from said sum without itemized account whenever the Attorney General certifies that an itemized account would not be for the best interests of the Government: (Act of 1917, sec. 24).

RULES AND REGULATIONS

SEC. 24. The Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, with the approval of the Attorney General, shall prescribe rules and regulations for the enforcement of the provisions of this Act; but all such rules and regulations, in so far as they relate to the administration of this Act by consular officers, shall be prescribed by the Secretary of State on the recommendation of the Attorney General. (Act of 1924, sec. 24.)

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY

OF STATE; BUREAU OF SECURITY AND CONSULAR AFFAIRS

SEC. 104. (a) The Secretary of State shall be charged with the administration and the enforcement of the provisions of this Act and all other immigration and nationality laws relating to (1) the powers, duties and functions of diplomatic and consular officers of the United States, except those powers, duties and functions conferred upon the consular officers relating to the granting or refusal of visas; (2) the powers duties and functions of the Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs; and (3) the determination of nationality of a person not in the United States. shall establish such regulations; prescribe such forms of reports, entries and other papers; issue such instructions; and perform such other acts as he deems necessary for carrying out such provisions. He is authorized to confer or impose upon any employee of the United States, with the consent of the head of the department or in

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