Prosecutions under the Smith Act continued until a series of U S Supreme Court decisions in 1957 reversed a number of convictions under the Act as being unconstitutional.
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11 Facts About Smith Act
2.
The Smith Act is referred to by the name of its principal author, Rep.
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3.
Alien Registration Smith Act was merely one of many laws hastily passed in the first spasm of fear engendered by the success of fifth columns in less fortunate countries.
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4.
On October 13, 1941, the 77th United States Congress amended the Smith Act, authorizing a criminal offense for the unlawful reproduction of alien registration receipt cards.
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5.
The Smith Act set federal criminal penalties that included fines or imprisonment for as long as twenty years, and denied all employment by the federal government for five years following a conviction for anyone who:.
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6.
Smith Act expanded the grounds for deporting aliens to include weapons violations and abetting illegal immigration.
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7.
The Smith Act required aliens applying for visas to register and be fingerprinted.
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8.
Smith Act was written so that federal authorities could deport radical labor organizer Harry Bridges, an immigrant from Australia.
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9.
The Smith Act allowed deportation of an alien who had been "at any time" since arriving in the U S a member of, or affiliated with, such an organization.
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10.
In March 1942, the government charged George W Christians, founder of the Crusader White Shirts, with violating the Smith Act by attempting to spread dissent in the armed forces.
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11.
Smith Act was released after serving fifteen months when President John F Kennedy commuted his sentence in 1962.
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