The Pittsburgh Press (November 1, 1940)
MRS. BROWDER FACES OUSTER
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Must Prove She’s No Communist to Stay in U.S.
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Washington, Nov. 1 (UP) –
Raisa Berkman Browder, wife of the Communist candidate for President, faces deportation to her native Russia today unless she can present positive proof that she is not a member of the Communist Party.
Immigration officials will meet within a few days to set an effective date for a deportation order issued yesterday by Attorney General Robert H. Jackson. Mrs. Browder cannot reopen her case unless she can prove her lack of affiliation with the Communist Party.
Her only recourse to this courts, officials said, would be an application for a writ of habeas corpus. The chances of such a writ being granted, it was explained, are exceedingly slim since the courts can only pass on the legality of the deportation order, not on the merits of her case or the evidence involved.
Mrs. Browder was ordered deported on the grounds that she entered the country in 1933 with the intention of remaining permanently although she did not have an unexpired visa. She asked for leniency on the basis of her American-born husband, Earl Browder, and her three children, who are considered American citizens.
Mr. Jackson, however, held that the section authorizing him to grant leniency did not apply to members of the Communist Party. He added that this has been an established policy of the Immigration Service.
An embarrassing legal point might be raised if the Soviet Union refused to accept Mrs. Browder. She could not be deported under such circumstances unless another country of her own choice would accept her. In such a case, she probably would be released under bond.