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Notable New     Yorkers
Select     Notable New Yorker

Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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The people were let in on a temporary basis. They hadn't been examined as permanent entrants. They were not regarded as aliens seeking admittance to the United States. They were visitors, and came for six months, or a year, or some such time. Refugees were always in that position.

Now, all refugees and all temporary entrants were subject to the same rule that they would keep the Immigration Service informed as to their whereabouts - that is, they wouldn't disappear into the population and change their names. That was very rarely violated. They were respectable business men and others. If they were leaving New York and going to Florida for the winter, they would drop a note to the Immigartion Service authorities to notify them of that. That happened regularly.

Then, of course, when the war came on you had the usual temporary visitors finding themselves practically refugees - and there were a great many of those who had gotten out early on visitors passports. They found themselves truly refugees. They not only didn't want to go back, they couldn't go back. The same was true of those who had come in through South America, or Martinique, or some other way as irregular entrants.

So an agreement was made between the Canadian government and the American government for pre-examination. They were examined here in our Immigration Service in great detail. If our people found them admissible, except for the





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