An Act to prohibit certain subversive activities; to amend certain provisions of law with respect to the admission and deportation of aliens; to require the fingerprinting and registration of aliens; and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)
ARA
Nicknames
Alien Registration Act, 1940
Enacted by
the 76th United States Congress
Effective
June 28, 1940
Citations
Public law
Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 76–670
Statutes at Large
54 Stat. 670, Chapter 439
Codification
Acts repealed
Repealed. June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title IV, § 403(a)(39), 66 Stat. 280, eff. Dec. 24, 1952 [1]
Titles amended
8 U.S.C.: Aliens and Nationality
U.S.C. sections created
8 U.S.C. ch. 10 § 451
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 5138 by Howard W. Smith (D–VA) on June 29, 1939
Committee consideration by House Judiciary, Senate Judiciary
Passed the House on July 29, 1939 (Passed)
Passed the Senate on June 15, 1940 (Passed)
Reported by the joint conference committee on June 17, 1940; agreed to by the House on June 22, 1940 (382-4) and by the Senate on June 22, 1940 (Agreed)
Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 28, 1940
United States Supreme Court cases
Harisiades v. Shaughnessy, 342 U.S. 580 (1952)
Bridges v. Wixon
Dennis v. United States
Yates v. United States
Watkins v. United States
Scales v. United States
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The Alien Registration Act, popularly known as the Smith Act, 76th United States Congress, 3d session, ch. 439, 54 Stat. 670, 18 U.S.C. § 2385 is a United States federal statute that was enacted on June 28, 1940. It set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government by force or violence, and required all non-citizen adult residents to register with the federal government.
Approximately 215 people were indicted under the legislation, including alleged communists and socialists. Prosecutions under the Smith Act continued until a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions in 1957[2] reversed a number of convictions under the Act as being unconstitutional. The law has been amended several times.
^U.S. Code › Title 8 › Chapter 10 › § 451
^DeLauder, Jesse. "The Seattle Seven: The Smith Act Trials in Seattle (1952–1958)". University of Washington. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
The Alien Registration Act, popularly known as the SmithAct, 76th United States Congress, 3d session, ch. 439, 54 Stat. 670, 18 U.S.C. § 2385 is a United...
The Debbie SmithAct of 2004 (42 U.S.C. § 13701) provides United States federal government grants to eligible states and units of local government to...
The SmithAct trials of Communist Party leaders in New York City from 1949 to 1958 were the result of US federal government prosecutions in the postwar...
2015. Kelsey Smith Act: H.R.4889 - Kelsey SmithAct Kelsey's Army America's Most Wanted Profile of Kelsey Smith Findagrave Memorial Page Johnson County...
SmithAct trial may refer to: SmithAct legal proceedings SmithAct trials of Communist Party leaders Irrigation District Act of 1916 (SmithAct) Debbie...
model of their unemployed councils. The Alien Registration Act or SmithAct of 1940 made the act of "knowingly or willfully advocate, abet, advise or teach...
company Smith College, in Northampton, Massachusetts, U.S. SmithAct, a United States federal statute Smith Tower, in Seattle, Washington, U.S. Smiths (disambiguation)...
University Dramatic Society, Smith began her career as Viola in Twelfth Night at the Oxford Playhouse. She continued to act in productions at the Oxford...
The Sedition Act of 1918 (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 65–150, 40 Stat. 553, enacted May 16, 1918) was an Act of the United States Congress...
Violated the Espionage Act?". Commentary Magazine. Archived from the original on January 18, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2011. Smith, Michael (2000). The...
to the late 1950s when the SmithAct trials of communist party leaders occurred. The Alien Registration Act or SmithAct of 1940 made it a criminal offense...
constitutional, as a result of court cases involving prosecutions under the SmithAct, a law which bears nearly identical language to that used here in § 552...
in Europe, the U.S. Congress legislated the Alien Registration Act (aka the SmithAct, 18 USC § 2385) making it a crime to "knowingly or willfully advocate...
law SmithAct "Foreign Agents Registration Act". www.justice.gov. August 17, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2022. Foreign Agents Registration Act: An Overview...
The Hatch Act of 1939, An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, is a United States federal law. Its main provision prohibits civil-service employees...
cases involving incitement to violence. In 1940, Congress enacted the SmithAct, making it illegal to advocate "the propriety of overthrowing or destroying...
solely based on membership under the SmithAct due to the expressed and alleged intent of the organization. The Act also contained an emergency detention...
Tommie C. Smith (born June 6, 1944) is an American former track and field athlete and former wide receiver in the American Football League. At the 1968...
act was added to the 2013 NDAA bill as section of 1078 to amend certain passages of Smith–Mundt Act of 1948 and Foreign Relations Authorization Act of...
censorship of sensitive material. In 1940, the Alien Registration Act, or "SmithAct", was passed, which made it a federal crime to advocate or to teach...
organizations to protest (unsuccessfully) against the passage of the SmithAct in 1940, which would later be used to imprison many persons who supported...
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper and film producer. He has received multiple accolades, including an Academy...
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