ITALY AND THE RENDITION OF CRIMINALS

In the last few months almost all Italian newspapers of all political inclinations, from left to right, have published strongly-worded editorials against the United States accusing it of dumping a bunch of common criminals and other undesirables onto the peninsula’s shores as if throwing trash overboard. The issue is causing a lot of worries to people interested in preserving good relations between the two countries, and, naturally, it raises concerns inside the respective governments. To this end, I thought it would be useful to investigate the facts by digging into official documents. I am not at liberty to disclose the sources of my information for I am bound by the promise that I would protect the privacy of the people who helped me. I also promised I would not reveal their positions. However, I want to assure my readers that the information in my possession comes from credible functionaries of both countries at all levels, from high to low. The only people I did not consult with are the deportees themselves—for obvious reasons. I spoke, however, with their defense attorneys.

For this article I followed an uncommon approach: first I formulated the kind of questions and doubts that any Italian citizen would like to ask, and then I tried to give answers from the point of view of an American citizen. It’s a straightforward method that takes away biases and has the advantage of clarity. Here is the imaginary dialogue between an Italian (I) and an American (A).

I: Is it true that American citizens are deported from America just because they are criminals?

A: Untrue. It would be impossible to deport an American citizen from the United States. The Constitution doesn’t allow it. Exile as a form of punishment does not exist in American jurisprudence.

I: How come, then, even Prezzolini calls them “exiled”?

A: It’s just a metaphor, not a legal term. The term refers to a moral condition, not a legal one. Many of these deportees haven’t lived in Italy since they were children and when they are brought back there they are totally lost: they feel like foreigner.

I: Why does the American government send them to Italy?

A: Because, based on a strictly legal argument, they are Italian citizens. Some never acquired American citizenship. Others, who were naturalized, have been accused of using fraudulent means to obtain U.S. citizenship and, therefore, were not entitled to it. The decision is made by a judge after a regular court hearing. The American government claims that the moment they lost their American citizenship they reverted back to the status of Italian citizens and they must return to their homeland. The Italian government often does not agree with these legal arguments. Thus far, all the people who have returned have done so either voluntarily or with the approval of the Italian government.

I: Is it unusual for a modern State to expel or deport foreigners, or people that are considered foreigners?

A: Not at all. Indeed, it is a very common practice. Every country has the right to expel from its soil foreigners that are considered undesirable. In some countries, for instance in France, all is needed is a police order. France has used it against journalists who, according to the French government, did not “tell the truth” and did not contribute to good relations between the two states[1] [sic].

I: What are the conditions of these deportations? Are they brutal and rough?

A: Deportation is always brutal and taxing for anyone. In legal terms, deportation is a punishment. In many cases it really is one of the most severe punishments that can be imposed. People who live in a country for a long time create human relationships and often have a family. They speak the language of the country, know the customs and are comfortable with their lives. And then, suddenly, they are thrown out. The punishment is so brutal that people often choose to serve a prison sentence rather than being deported so that, after they are released from prison, at least they can go back to their families and their lives. The circumstances vary greatly by country. Some countries implement much more cruel measures than the United States. Argentina, for instance, gives a deportee three days to get out. New Zealand—which is a very democratic and progressive country—gives them twenty eight days. In France the waiting period is very short. In the United States the term is six months. Moreover, in America the law is tilted in favor of the accused and a good lawyer can drag on the process for years.

I: While they await the final disposition of the case, are the deportees kept in prison?

A: Very few of them are. Legally they are under arrest. However, they can be free on bail and go about their business until the deportation order is finalized. For instance, as of January 31, 1951, the total number of people awaiting deportation was 39,743: only 1,545 were in prison; 5,742 were out on bail; 28,919 were out on their own reconnaissance and 3,537 were in hiding and considered fugitive from the law. These figures demonstrate a rather lax attitude, reinforced by the number of people at large. Of course, if the people who decided to go into hiding were caught, they would end up back in prison with no chance of bail. In France, to the contrary, there was a case of a deportee who was kept in prison for nine years eight months and twenty one days (from a report published by the United Nations).

I: What are the reasons that can trigger expulsion from the United States?

A: More or less the same reasons apply all over the world. The main, generic but fundamental reason is the interest of the “public good.” This term can cover a lot of legal areas: it may refer to security, public safety, the economy etc. In some cases the laws are more specific. In some countries panhandling and vagrancy are enough to warrant an expulsion. Other common reasons are illegal possession of firearms, traffic of narcotics, abuse of minors, homosexuality, prostitution and smuggling. In Argentina all is needed is “offenses” to foreign heads of states, or offenses against a foreign flag, or even the dissemination of information that could damage good relations with other countries. The last one is the kind of clause that makes it almost impossible to be a foreign correspondent in Argentina. The United States doesn’t have that long a list. Only recently, with the passage of the McCarran law,[2] the enforcement has become more active. For instance, the United States honors the recent international Brussels Convention[3] and does not expel foreigners just for being indigent, as long as the person is not a criminal. This has never happened, not even during the Great Depression.

I: Is the number of Italians that have been deported really significant? Is it one of the biggest groups ever deported from the United States?

A: In 1953-1954 the total number of deportees from the United States was 26,951. Of these, 351 were rendered back to Italy. The number is not very high and it certainly is not the largest group by nationality. Moreover, it is rather small compared to the overall population of Italian descent living in the United States.

I: What about the other deportees? For the sake of information and also for comparison purposes, what were their countries of origin?

A: Illegal entries into the United States are much easier by land than by air of sea, obviously. Of the total number of deportees, 22,628 were Mexican and 1,296 were Canadian.

I: Many in Italy contend that Americans are much more lenient with political allies and so-called blood relatives, particularly the British. Is it so?
A: It doesn’t look that way. The number of British subjects expelled was 299 against 351 Italians. One should remember that the overall size of the British population in the United States is much, much smaller than the Italian. When we compare the treatment of Italians to that of citizens of other countries, the gap is even wider: 200 people from Greece were deported although the Greek population in the United States is one tenth of the Italian. At the same ratio, the Italian deportees should have been over two thousand.

I: Why does America worries so much about such a tiny amount of undesirable foreigners? Yours is a big country: why do you get caught up in such small things?

A: Italians cannot fully appreciate the enormity of problems that are caused by the influx of foreigners, useful and useless, honest and dishonest, suitable for integration and indigestible. Just think what it would mean if Italy had to educate fifteen million people of foreign origin in the national language for at least two generations before they could become fully functional citizens. Starting from 1892, skipping the first hundred years of the Republic, the total number of people expelled from the United States to this day is 5,416,313—or five and half million. Of these, 443,210—almost half a million—had to be forcibly expelled, or deported. In addition to six thousand miles of border with Mexico and Canada, there are thousands and thousands of miles of coast where it’s easy to get ashore. Only in 1953 the border police inspected 45,000 ships and 85,000 airplanes. Over two million sailors were processed with temporary permits lasting from a few hours to a few days. Inspections were conducted on more than 2,000 diplomats and 10,000 consular or other officials from overseas.

I: Why is surveillance necessary at all?

A: First of all, these are common measures. In Italy, by the way, if the police were to follow to the letter the exact provisions of the law the screening process would be even more intrusive and unforgiving. Immigration is a real headache for the United States. In the past the doors were open to all but that policy created problems, social unrest and political fights. The first legislative initiative to defend America from foreign invasions dates back to 1789[4] [sic], a few years after the foundation of the Republic. Americans are rather liberal and tolerant by nature, tradition and law. But these virtues are not common to all the humans who were dumped onto these shores. As a consequence some illiberal and intolerant corrections had to be introduced. America is founded on principles, some of which so absurd that once in a while they need to be modified with common-sense corrections and a few hypocritical patches, all the while without ever denying the principles themselves. As Americans have become richer and more powerful, the immigration pressure from all over the world has increased and applications to migrate now arrive from all corners of the globe. It’s hard to believe that George Washington would have imagined that Chinese would migrate to the United States by the tens of thousands and that it would be necessary to make a special law to keep them out.[5] It was a law that contradicted basic principles and values. Nevertheless, it was an essential law that saved America from the deluge of people who, otherwise, would have flooded the country wiping out all the efforts to create a rich, independent and modern nation. Moreover, despite the racial laws and the provision to sift through the immigrants, the United States has taken in forty million people. Consider that every year thousands of individuals try to enter the country illegally. A Senate inquiry has determined that there are already millions of illegal residents. New York alone has about 200,000. Immigration experts estimate that in some Brooklyn neighborhoods the percentage of illegal residents is as high as ten percent of the population.

The number of career criminals among Italians deportees is rather low. In 1953-1954 there were forty four criminals: four were accused of crimes against morality; six were drug traffickers; one was mentally ill and four were subversives. The large majority, 218 cases, were people without legal papers. A curiosity is the number of sailors who ended up being deported because they overstayed the terms of their visas. In 1953-1954 the total was 295, 130 of which Italian. Probably they were staying with relatives or a girlfriend... Inevitably, in this huge mass of cases, some injustices and unnecessary harshness have been committed.

I: How is it that the data for deportees are so small, while those for the expulsions are so large?

A: There is a rather simple explanation. The primary reason for being expelled from this country is lack of official papers. These people normally don’t fight the system and reluctantly return to their home countries. Deportees are those who refused to leave voluntarily and decided to fight the expulsion decrees in court. Often in this category are individuals who defend personal as well as group interests. A Senate investigation revealed that their legal expenses are often paid for by criminal organizations that want to keep their members in the country, such as in the [Francesco] Brancato case.[6] At times the trials drag on for years at very high cost.

I: But there are cases when the law is truly inhumane.

A: True. Although even the McCarran law asks for some leniency when the deportation results in the separation of family members, cases of inhumanity do occur. Maybe this has to do with the insensitivity of individual police officers and immigration agents who get progressively de-sensitized after dealing with so many cases of deceptive practices, trickery, lawlessness and outright criminal behavior.

I: Is it possible to appeal to a higher court?

A: The only possibility is to have a member of congress introduce legislation dealing with that specific case granting citizenship to an individual. It is a very unusual case but it does happen: every year about a thousand such laws are proposed, but only two hundred are approved.

I: What happens to those foreigners who, if they were sent back, would face political persecution, like in Russia or Poland, for instance? How would they be treated if one tried to flee illegally to the United States?

A: These cases follow a different process. In 1953 the Commissioner received 110 requests.[7] Eighty-four were rejected, eight were accepted and thirty four are still under consideration. It is not a very reassuring outcome. However, it is not hard to see how a Romanian or a Polish would be willing to make up lots of stories in order to stay in the United States. One should not forget the cases of communists who feigned being victims of communism in order to penetrate the United States and work as spies. Now another phenomenon is under way: representatives of communist countries are trying to persuade some of the fugitives to return home promising them a normal life, even better than in America. But this would take another long conversation, and I think this is already long enough as it is.

New York, July 5, 1956