Reading Room Document

Admission of attorneys, who are alleged Communists, to practice before the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Immigration Service

The OLC was asked whether attorneys who are otherwise in good standing may be denied admission to practice before immigration courts because of membership in the Communist party. The OLC advised the Board of Immigration Appeals that while some federal courts reference good moral character as an admission requirement, it identified no federal courts or administrative agencies that excluded applicants on the basis of Communist party membership, and suggested that the question “ought to be left primarily to the states” in their bar membership criteria.

September 3, 1952