Smith Act
United States federal statute / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
Other short titles | Civilian and Military Organizations License Act |
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Long title | 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Acts repealed | Repealed.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 | |
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United States Supreme Court cases | |
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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.