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Los Angeles Committee for Protection of Foreign Born Records,
1938-1973
MSS 080
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Title: Los Angeles Committee for Protection of Foreign Born Records,
Date (inclusive): 1938-1973
Collection number: MSS 080
Creator:
Los Angeles Committee for Protection of Foreign Born
Extent:
17 legal document boxes;
5 2/3 linear feet
Repository:
Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research
Los Angeles, CA 90044
Abstract: This is a collection of records from the Los Angeles Committee for Protection of Foreign Born (LACPFB), an organization devoted
to preserving the democratic ideals of equality by defending the rights and liberties of the foreign born. The Committee was
most active between 1950-1963 during the height of McCarthyism. The Committee's activities centered on repealing the Walter-McCarran
Law (1952) and defending its victims. The collection consists of open records commonly distributed for public awareness and
participation as well as detailed individual case files, including court proceedings and transcripts of high-profile cases
handled by the Committee, such as the Terminal Island Four case. The collection reflects the Committee's legal and public
activism between 1950-1973.
Language:
English.
It is the Library staff's best judgment that Emil Freed, the Library's founder, received the records in the late 1970s from
Rose Chernin, the founder and executive director of the Los Angeles Committee for Protection of Foreign Born.
The collection is available for research only at the Library's facility in Los Angeles. The Library is open from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Researchers are encouraged to call or email the Library indicating the nature of their research
query prior to making a visit.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research. Researchers may make single
copies of any portion of the collection, but publication from the collection will be allowed only with the express written
permission of the Library's director. It is not necessary to obtain written permission to quote from a collection. When the
Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research gives permission for publication, it is as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item], Los Angeles Committee for Protection of Foreign Born Records, Southern California Library for Social
Studies and Research, Los Angeles, California.
The American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born is an unaffiliated, non-partisan organization that began in 1933 with
the aim of defending the rights and liberties of the foreign born. It promoted better relations and understanding between
native and foreign born by means of education and sought cooperation with other organizations. The American Committee encouraged
naturalization of non-citizens, and it vigorously fought against discrimination against foreign born citizens because of their
nationality, political, economic or religious belief. The American Committee played a pivotal role in preserving the fundamental
concepts of equality regardless of race, color, nationality, and creed. In response to the growing anti-immigrant sentiments
during the 1950s, regional committees were established in areas with high immigrant population, such as, Detroit, Philadelphia,
Chicago, and Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Committee for Protection of Foreign Born (LACPFB) began in September 1950 with the same fundamental vision
and goal of preserving the rights of the foreign born, focusing on those living in the greater Los Angeles area. In its inception,
the Committee had no formal membership and was mostly composed of deportees and relatives of deportees. Rose Chernin, the
founder and executive director of the Committee, was herself a foreign born under the threat of deportation to Russia on the
charge of alleged membership in the Young Communist League, thereby violating the Smith Act. She was found guilty in 1952
and faced denaturalization proceedings. However, the Supreme Court reversed her conviction and the denaturalization order
in 1957, largely due to the unrelenting campaign efforts of the Committee.
Despite the attempts to deport its leader, thereby weakening LACPFB, the Committee grew to be an active and effective organization
defending the rights of the foreign born. LACPFB set up subcommittees, such as the Bail Fund Committee, Trade Union Committee,
Denaturalization Committee, and Committee for Protection of Citizenship to delegate its many tasks and responsibilities. It
also sought cooperation of organizations interested in similar issues and worked closely with the national office, American
Committee for Protection of Foreign Born (ACPFB), headed by Abner Green in New York.
The Committee's first high-profile case known as the "Terminal Island Four" case (1951) became the focal point of the Committee's
activity and set a precedent for the Committee's future involvements and activities. The case involved Harry Carlisle, David
Hyun, Frank Carlson, and Miriam Stevenson, who were the first victims of the McCarran Law. The four were seized from their
homes and work without warrant and held in the Terminal Island Detention Camp for six weeks without bail. In response, LACPFB
set up special committees to raise financial support, picket in front of courts and Immigration Service headquarters, organize
demonstrations and protests, and circulate literature to raise awareness and participation in the community. The Committee's
political and legal activism was also heard in Washington with several of the Committee's cases going before the Supreme Court.
Well-known civil rights attorneys like Joseph Forer, Ben Margolis, Seymour Mandel, and John Porter played an instrumental
role in the Committee's defense activities.
The Committee's main activity centered around the repeal of the Walter-McCarran Law (1952), which was a harsher version of
the anti-immigrant, anti-Communist policy outlined in the McCarran (Internal Security) Act of 1950. Although the law was anti-Communist
in design and language, it was also used as an anti-union weapon, targeting union leaders like Harry Bridges and Stanley Nowak.
The aim was to weaken and disband labor unions, which were rapidly mobilizing and growing nationwide. Largely affected were
the many legal and illegal Mexicans in Los Angeles, many of whom were being deported without due process. Other issues that
the Committee took up included: statutes of limitation for deportation, unreasonable bail amount, illegal arrests and warrants,
and immigration quota system.
After a productive decade of fighting for the cause of the foreign born during the height of McCarthyism, the Committee's
role had to be reevaluated and goals redefined. The 1960s was a decade of the civil rights movement. The focus was shifting
to the African-American's fight for full citizenship rights in midst of the police brutality, church bombings, and assassination
of President John F. Kennedy, a proponent of the civil rights movement. There was also a great student uproar against the
Vietnam War and nuclear arms proliferation. In response to the changing social and political climate, the Committee's role
also changed to meet the needs of all minority groups including the foreign born and the African-Americans. The Committee
officially changed its name to Los Angeles Committee for Defense of the Bill of Rights and Protection of Foreign Born in 1967,
and embarked on a new phase of activism.
The Los Angeles Committee for Protection of Foreign Born (LACPFB) records consist of correspondence, minutes, press releases,
journals, newsletters, transcripts, photos, newspaper clippings, and various other items representing the activities of the
Committee. These materials were open records, which were commonly distributed to committee members and the public to raise
awareness and support for the issues that were of interest to LACPFB. More private, not-for-distribution records in the collection
include case files of individuals who came to the Committee seeking legal assistance.
Of special interest are series two, three, and four, which are the case files of individuals involved in deportation and denaturalization
proceedings. The case files are organized according to LACPFB cases and cases handled by the national committee and other
organizations. The LACPFB case records generally include interview notes, status reports of cases, and court briefs and proceedings.
There are extensive and detailed records kept for Harry Carlisle (series II, subseries A) and David Hyun (series III), two
of the four defendants in the Terminal Island Four case. Both of their decade-long trials were handled by the Committee, which
was staunchly devoted to keeping the two from being deported. Records of other non-LACPFB cases reflect the cooperative relations
of the Committee with various other local and national organizations, such as, the Needles Trade Union, National Farmers Union,
and the National Council of Churches.
The entire collection spans from 1947 to 1973. However, bulk of the records date from 1950-1960 during the height of McCarthyism.
The passing of the infamous Walter-McCarran Law in 1952 fueled the Committee's activism to repeal the law and overturn the
deportation orders mandated by the law. There is also a limited number of pre-1950 records when the Committee was unofficially
operating on a case-by-case basis. Records after 1960 are greater in quantity but tend to be sporadic and choppy. There are
less detailed records kept after about 1963 when the Committee was shifting its focus to the civil rights movement. The complete
collection of the annual conference journals from 1954-1973 serves as a good overview and report of the Committee's activities
throughout its history.
Arrangement
The collection is divided into seven series:
1.Office files, 2.Harry Carlisle and the Terminal Island Four, 3.Case Files, 4.Other organization case files, 5.Lawyers and
Legal panel, 6.American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born, and 7.United States Government.
Arrangement
Removed or Separated Material
Related Material at the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research
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