American Committee for the Protection of Foreign Born was the successor group to the National Council for the Protection of the Foreign Born and its successor, seen by the US federal government as subversive for "protecting foreign Communists who come to this country," thus "enabling them to operate here.".

History

By 1922, groups to defend foreign born communists began to emerge locally, but a National Council for Protection of Foreign Born did not form until May 1926. In 1933,

Roger Nash Baldwin Roger Nash Baldwin (January 21, 1884 – August 26, 1981) was one of the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). He served as executive director of the ACLU until 1950. Many of the ACLU's original landmark cases took place under h ...

of the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...

formed the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born. The committee sought to defend rights of foreign born, especially radicals and Communist Party members, who went otherwise legally undefended. It pursued three avenues: litigation, legislation, and public education. The US federal government determined that the committee worked closely with the

International Labor Defense The International Labor Defense (ILD) (1925–1947) was a legal advocacy organization established in 1925 in the United States as the American section of the Comintern's International Red Aid network. The ILD defended Sacco and Vanzetti, was active ...

, legal arm of the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

, in turn an arm of the Soviet-formed

Communist International The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern and also known as the Third International, was a political international which existed from 1919 to 1943 and advocated world communism. Emerging from the collapse of the Second Internationa ...

and thus supported Party (Soviet) policies. In the 1930s, the committee campaigned for asylum rights for refugees of European fascism who faced deportation. After the start of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

in 1936, the committee protected fighters against

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

who could not (re-)enter the United States legally, e.g., American members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the committee joined the Popular Front in promoting national unity against fascism. It helped Japanese-Americans after internment. It successfully defended CPUSA leader

William Schneiderman William V. Schneiderman (December 14, 1905 – January 29, 1985) was an American politician activist who was secretary for California in the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and involved in two cases before the United States Supreme Court, ''Stack v. ...

against cancelation of his naturalization due to communist memberships. It defended Australian-born labor leader

Harry Bridges Harry Bridges (28 July 1901 – 30 March 1990) was an Australian-born American union leader, first with the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA). In 1937, he led several Pacific Coast chapters of the ILA to form a new union, the In ...

. During the early Cold War, the US federal government increased its efforts to deport foreign born trade unionists and Communists; it also attacked the committee itself. In June 1948, Attorney General

Tom C. Clark Thomas Campbell Clark (September 23, 1899June 13, 1977) was an American lawyer who served as the 59th United States Attorney General, United States attorney general from 1945 to 1949 and as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United St ...

added the committee to a Justice Department list of "subversive" organizations. The McCarran

Internal Security Act of 1950 The Internal Security Act of 1950, (Public Law 81-831), also known as the Subversive Activities Control Act of 1950, the McCarran Act after its principal sponsor Sen. Pat McCarran (D-Nevada), or the Concentration Camp Law, is a United States f ...

and the McCarran-Walter Immigration Act of 1952 targeted foreign born Communist Party members. In 1950, Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr. asked the

Subversive Activities Control Board The Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB) was a United States federal committee. It was the subject of a landmark United States Supreme Court decision of the Warren Court, '' Communist Party v. Subversive Activities Control Board'', 351 U.S ...

to make the committee register as a Communist front. In 1951, executive secretary, Abner Green went to imprisoned for six months for refusing to submit names of contributors. In January 1952,

Carol Weiss King Carol Weiss King (24 August 1895 – 22 January 1952) was a well-known immigration lawyer, renowned for her advocacy in defending the civil rights of immigrants, key founder of the International Juridical Association, and a founding member ...

, general counsel, died. From 1955 to 1957, the committee faced a charge of violating charitable laws. In 1957, a New York State Supreme Court ''ex parte'' injunction stopped the committee from all activities. The committee reformed as a charitable organization. Although also in 1957, the United States Supreme Court reversed deportation of

Charles Rowoldt Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

based on membership in the Communist Party, the committee gave up direct legal defense of foreign born to focus on public opinion and legislation, e.g., revision or repeal of the McCarran-Walter Act. In the 1960s, the committee focused on discrimination against Mexican immigrants and West Indian workers. It campaigned to establish a statute of limitation, to eliminate supervisory parole, and to defend the free speech and association of foreign born. Specific bills targeted included the

Rodino Bill Rodino may refer to: * Peter W. Rodino (1909–2005), American politician * Rodino (rural locality), several rural localities in Russia {{Disambiguation, surname ...

and the Field-Knorr Bill, "both of which proposed the establishment of sanctions against employers of 'illegal' aliens." The committee also defended political asylum for Haitians. On April 26, 1965, the United States Supreme Court in '' American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born, Petitioner, v. Subversive Activities Control Board'' affirmed an order of the Subversive Activities Control Board requiring that the committee, represented by

Joseph Forer Joseph Forer (1911 – 20 June 1986) was a 20th-century American attorney who, with partner David Rein, supported Progressive Era, Progressive causes, including discriminated communists and African-Americans. Forer was one of the founders of the N ...

, must register as a 'Communist-front' organization. In 1977, the committee helped win right to public education for children of illegally immigrated parents. In 1982, the

National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee The National Emergency Civil Liberties Committee (NECLC), until 1968 known as the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee, was an organization formed in the United States in October 1951 by 150 educators and clergymen to advocate for the civil libertie ...

absorbed the committee.

Organization

The US federal government deemed both Communist front organizations that worked closely with the

, the legal arm of the

, in turn, an arm of the Soviet-formed

. Both groups supported Party (Soviet) policies. The American Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born had ties to the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. The American Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born had various subcommittees: * Regional: New York Committee for Protection of Foreign Born, Los Angeles Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, Bay Cities Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born (Pittsburgh), Clatsop County Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born (Oregon), Midwest Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, Committee for Protection of Oregon's Foreign Born, Western Pennsylvania Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, Detroit Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, East Bay Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, East Side Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, etc. * Ethnic: Albanian Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born (Michigan), American-Polish Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, American-Yugoslav Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born (Pittsburgh), Bulgarian-American Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, Czechoslovak Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, Estonian Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, Greek-American Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, Hungarian-American Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, Italian-American Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, etc. * Regional and Ethnic: Chicago-Greek Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, Chicago-Jewish Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, New York-Polish Committee for Protection of the Foreign Born, etc. * People Defended: Charles Doyle Defense Committee,

Claudia Jones Claudia Vera Jones (; 21 February 1915 – 24 December 1964) was a Trinidad and Tobago-born journalist and activist. As a child, she migrated with her family to the United States, where she became a Communist political activist, feminist and bla ...

Defense Committee, Committee for the Defense of Martin Karasek,

Defense Committee, etc. In 1950, the Internal Security Act listed as a "subversive" "Communist-front" organization.

People

The committee had a small staff. Dwight C. Morgan served as executive secretary from 1933 to 1939. Abner Green succeeded him and served from 1941 to 1959.

served as general counsel from 1942 to 1952; she also co-founded the

International Juridical Association The International Juridical Association (IJA; 1931–1942) was an association of socially minded American lawyers, established by Carol Weiss King and considered by the U.S. federal government (in the form of the U.S. House Un-American Activities ...

(IJA).

Ira Gollobin Ira Gollobin (July 18, 1911 – April 4, 2008) was a civil rights and immigration attorney who was involved for over seven decades in civil liberties, immigration, and extradition cases. Gollobin wrote extensively on the civil liberties and civ ...

served as associate counsel from 1936 to 1966 and then general counsel from 1967 to 1982.

Leaders

National Council for Protection of Foreign Born Workers: * President: Joseph Dean * Legal Advisor: Henry T. Hunt * Secretary-Treasurer: Nina Samorodin * First Vice President: Max Orlowsky * Second Vice President: P. Pascal Cosgrove In 1942,

Hugh De Lacy Hugh de Lacy or Hugh Lacy may refer to: *Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Lassy (c. 1020–1085), first recorded member of the Norman noble family de Lacy *Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath (died 1186), 4th Baron Lacy *Hugh de Lacy, Abbot of Shrewsbury (died c. 121 ...

was national chairman. In 1951,

Louise Pettibone Smith Louise Pettibone Smith (1887–1981) was an American biblical scholar, professor, translator, author and social activist. She was the first woman published in the ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' in 1917. She later became chair of the American Com ...

was elected chair. In 1952, George B. Murphy Jr. served as a co-chair.

Members

Members or individuals affiliated with the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born included:

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

Bela Lugosi Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (19 ...

Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886–October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and ...

Emily Balch Emily Greene Balch (January 8, 1867 – January 9, 1961) was an American economist, sociologist and pacifist. Balch combined an academic career at Wellesley College with a long-standing interest in social issues such as poverty, child labor, a ...

Donald Ogden Stewart Donald Ogden Stewart (November 30, 1894 – August 2, 1980) was an American writer and screenwriter best known for his sophisticated golden age comedies and melodramas such as '' The Philadelphia Story'' (based on the play by Philip Barry), ' ...

, Edward G. Robinson, Maurice Hindus,

Max Lerner Max Lerner (December 20, 1902 – June 5, 1992) was a Russia-born American journalist and educator known for his syndicated column. Background Maxwell Alan Lerner was born on December 20, 1902, in Minsk, then in the Russian Empire, the son of B ...

Ella Winter Ella Winter Stewart (17 March 1898 – 5 August 1980) was an Australian-British journalist and activist, and champion of migrant farm workers. She was married to Hollywood screenwriter Donald Ogden Stewart. Early life Ella was born Eleanora S ...

Maxim Kopf Maxim Kopf (born Maximilian Kopf; 18 January 1892 – 6 July 1958) was an Austrian-American painter, graphic artist and sculptor. He worked in Prague and was a prominent figure of German cultural life in Czechoslovakia in the interwar period. He w ...

Yasuo Kuniyoshi was a Japanese-American painter, photographer and printmaker. Early life Kuniyoshi was born on September 1, 1889, in Okayama, Japan. He immigrated to the United States in 1906 at 17, choosing not to attend military school in Japan. Kuniyoshi ...

Leo Krzycki Leo Krzycki (also known as Leon Krzycki in Polish; 1881–1966) was an American socialist and labor leader of Polish descent who served on the Milwaukee Common Council from 1912 to 1916, as vice president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of Ame ...

, Michael Quill,

Vito Marcantonio Vito Anthony Marcantonio (December 10, 1902 – August 9, 1954) was an American lawyer and politician who served East Harlem for seven terms in the United States House of Representatives. For most of his political career, he was a member of ...

Canada Lee Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata (March 3, 1907 – May 9, 1952), known professionally as Canada Lee, was an American professional boxer and actor who pioneered roles for African Americans. After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, he beca ...

Louis B. Boudin Louis B. Boudin (December 15, 1874 – May 29, 1952) was a Russian-born American Marxist theoretician, writer, politician, and lawyer. He is best remembered as the author of a two volume history of the Supreme Court's influence on American govern ...

Henrietta Buckmaster Henrietta Delancey Henkle (March 10, 1909 – April 26, 1983), better known by her pen name Henrietta Buckmaster, was an activist, journalist, and author best known for writing historical studies and novels. She was also active in the civil right ...

Morris Carnovsky Morris Carnovsky (September 5, 1897 – September 1, 1992) was an American stage and film actor. He was one of the founders of the Group Theatre (1931-1940) in New York City and had a thriving acting career both on Broadway and in films u ...

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, critic, writer, teacher, pianist, and conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as the "Dean of American Compos ...

, Kyle Crichton,

Joseph Curran Joseph Curran (March 1, 1906 – August 14, 1981) was a merchant seaman and an American labor leader. He was founding president of the National Maritime Union (or NMU, now part of the Seafarers International Union of North America) from 1937 t ...

Abram Flaxer Abram Flaxer (1904-1989) was an American union leader who founded the State, County, and Municipal Workers of America (SCMWA), which merged with the United Federal Workers of America (UFWA) to form the United Federal Workers of America (UFWA), ...

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, page 95. As ...

(and

Florence Eldridge Florence Eldridge (born Florence McKechnie, September 5, 1901 – August 1, 1988) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 1957 for her performance in '' Long Day's Journey into Night''. E ...

Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (November 29, 1908 – April 4, 1972) was an American Baptist pastor and politician who represented the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the United States House of Representatives from 1945 until 1971. He was t ...

Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for h ...

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

Max Yergan Max Yergan (July 19, 1892 – April 11, 1975) was an African-American activist notable for being a Baptist missionary for the YMCA, then a Communist working with Paul Robeson, and finally a staunch anti-Communist who complimented the government of ...

Guy Endore Samuel Guy Endore (July 4, 1901 – February 12, 1970), born Samuel Goldstein and also known as Harry Relis, was an American novelist and screenwriter. During his career he produced a wide array of novels, screenplays, and pamphlets, both publish ...

, Reid Robinson,

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalism (literature), naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despi ...

Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and ethnomusicologist. He was a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the mov ...

Sidney Hillman Sidney Hillman (March 23, 1887 – July 10, 1946) was an American labor leader. He was the head of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and was a key figure in the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and in marshaling labor ...

Rockwell Kent Rockwell Kent (June 21, 1882 – March 13, 1971) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, writer, sailor, adventurer and voyager. Biography Rockwell Kent was born in Tarrytown, New York. Kent was of English American, English descent. ...

Walter Rautenstrauch Walter Rautenstrauch (1880–1951) was an American mechanical and consulting engineer, and Professor at Columbia University's Department of Industrial Engineering in the 1930s. He coined the term break-even point, and developing the break-even ch ...

Harry F. Ward Harry Frederick Ward Jr. (15 October 1873 – 9 December 1966) was an English-born American Methodist minister and political activist who identified himself with the movement for Christian socialism, best remembered as first national chairman of t ...

, Thomas Addis, Carol King,

George Seldes Henry George Seldes ( ; November 16, 1890 – July 2, 1995) was an American investigative journalist, foreign correspondent, editor, author, and media critic best known for the publication of the newsletter ''In Fact'' from 1940 to 1950. He was a ...

, Frederick V. Field,

Martha Dodd Martha Eccles Dodd (October 8, 1908 – August 10, 1990) was an American journalist and novelist. The daughter of William Edward Dodd, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first Ambassador to Germany, Dodd lived in Berlin from 1933–1937 an ...

Muriel Draper Muriel Draper (November 13, 1886 – August 26, 1952) was an American writer, artist and social activist. Biography Moving in English and American art circles, she participated in the Harlem Renaissance. A follower of Russian mystic G. I. Gurdji ...

Alexander Meiklejohn Alexander Meiklejohn (; 3 February 1872 – 17 December 1964) was an English-born American philosopher, university administrator, educational reformer, and free-speech advocate, best known as president of Amherst College. Background Alexand ...

, Genevieve Taggard,

Art Young Arthur Henry Young (January 14, 1866 – December 29, 1943) was an American cartoonist and writer. He is best known for his socialist cartoons, especially those drawn for the left-wing political magazine '' The Masses'' between 1911 and 1917. B ...

Louis Adamic Louis Adamic (; March 23, 1898 – September 4, 1951) was a Slovene American, Slovene-American author and translator, mostly known for writing about and advocating for ethnic diversity of the United States. Background Louis Adamic wa ...

, Morton Dimondstein, and George Albert Coe

Joseph Freeman (writer) Joseph Freeman (1897–1965) was an American writer and magazine editor. He is best remembered as an editor of ''New Masses'', a literary and artistic magazine closely associated with the Communist Party USA, and as a founding editor of the m ...

a member, as wel

Mady Christians Marguerita Maria Christians (January 19, 1892 – October 28, 1951), known as Mady Christians, was an Austrian-born German-American actress who had a successful acting career in theatre and film in the United States until she was blacklisted dur ...

Publications

The following publications of the American Committee provide details that appear in the ''Guide to Subversive Organizations and Publications (And Appendixes)'': * ''The Lamp'': Monthly publication f the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born in New York City * ''New York Beacon'': Publication of the New York Committee for Protection of Foreign Born Publications by ACPFB members: * ''Deportation Terror: A Weapon to Gag America'' (1950) * ''Deportation Drive vs the Bill of Rights: The McCarran Act and the Foreign Born'' (1951) Other publications include: * ''The Foreign Born in the United States'' (1936) * ''Unequal Justice''

References

External sources

Records of the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives, New York University Special Collections
University of California's Bancroft Collection
Labadie Collection - American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born papers
American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born Records (1926-1980s)

Cornell Law School
Legal Information Institute - American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born, Petitioner, v. Subversive Activities Control Board {{Authority control Organizations established in 1933 Political advocacy groups in the United States Progressivism in the United States Liberalism in the United States 1933 establishments in the United States