Los Angeles Committee for Protection of Foreign Born

Organizational History

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.

From the guide to the Los Angeles Committee for Protection of Foreign Born Records, 1938-1973, (Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research)