Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Address of the President to Congress December 8, 1914

File No. 150.07/24.

The Secretary of State to the Italian Chargé d’Affaires ⁹

Department of State,
Washington, August 29, 1914.

My Dear Mr. Charge d’affaires: The Secretary of Labor, under whose direct supervision and control the Bureau of Immigration is administering the immigration laws of the United States, is endeavoring as best he can through the bureau mentioned to meet in a spirit of reasonable liberality and broad humanity the various problems arising in connection with immigration to this country by reason of the present war conditions in Europe and elsewhere. He has already called the attention of the various steamship companies, in justice to intending immigrants, to the necessity for strict observance of particular care in the selection and transportation of alien passengers. As the immigration laws of the United States must be observed and enforced, irrespective of the existence abroad of the said conditions, the bringing of aliens at this time to ports of the United States who are not clearly of the admissible classes must, therefore, result in even more than ordinary hardship and distress as well as expense because of the difficulty of deporting promptly and safely, either to the country of origin or that of embarkation, those whom it may be necessary under the said laws to reject. In cases of aliens from countries now at war proceeding to a seaport of a neutral nation and thence embarking for the United States, greater hardships may be suffered and more dangers encountered.

It is the desire of this Government in this emergency, by diligence and careful attention, to reduce to a minimum all unfavorable elements, and this Department joins the Department of Labor in inviting the cooperation of all governments and immigration authorities to work in unison for the attainment of this purpose by the exercise of care in permitting the transportation to the United States from foreign ports of such aliens only as are clearly of the admissible classes under the immigration laws of the United States.

The classes of aliens who are excluded from admission to the United States are set forth in section 2 of the act of February 20, 1907, as amended by the act of March 26, 1910.

I am [etc.]

W. J. Bryan

.

9. The same mutatis mutandis to all other members of the Diplomatic Corps at Washington.